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§  1  ir^^ 


Amelia  at   Uncle  George's. 

Page  30. 


LCATIIIIGE    LCIBP^AI^Y. 

10  Vols.      .*.      12mo.      .*.      32.50. 

Cloth  Binding.     Cover  printed  in  two  colors. 
Pictures  on  every  other  pa«ce. 

FOR    THE    YOUNGEST  READERS. 


FOUR   O'CLOCK. 

HOT    POTATO. 

JINKS'S   GIRL. 
JOHN  PETER  SMITH. 

KITTEN  IN  PIG  ALLEY. 
LIKE    'LIZY. 

LITTLE    FELLOW-CREATURES. 
MISS  O'DEE'S  BIRTHDAY  BALL. 

MISSY. 
SHADE   AND   SHINE. 


New  York:    HUNT   &   EATON. 
Cincinnati:    CRANSTON    &   CURTS. 


/ 


I^T^~ 


5 


THE 


BRANDY   DROPS 

OR 

CHARLIE'S    PLEDGE 

AND 

THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS 

By    aunt    JULIA 


ILLUSTRA  TED 


NEW  YORK:  HUNT  &  EATON 
CINCINNATI :  CRANSTON  &  CURTS 


C7\h 


CONTENTS. 

(BRANDY  DROPS.) 


Chaptee  Page 

I.  The  Drunken  Woman 9 

n.  The  Power  op  Ridicule 21 

III.  The  Brandy  Drops '.  32 

IV.  Charlie's  Repentance 38 

V.  To  School  Again 52 

VI.  Jefferson  To'wts'ley 57 

VII.  Dealing  with  Temperance  Men.  . .  GG 

VIII.  The  Bible  on  Temperance 73 

IX.  Jamie  Williams 81 

X.  A  Temperance  Society  Formed 96 


622649 


CONTENTS. 

(TEIVIPERANCE  BOYS.) 


CBAFTEB  Page 

I.  Too  Much  Cold  Water 107 

n.  The  Thanksgiying  Dinner 124 

III.  A  New  Member 141 

IV.  Johnny  Capers  and  his  U^•CLE 1.j3 

V.  An  Intemperate  Family 1G4 

VI.  George  Barker's  Sunday  Scholar.  181 

Vn.  Uncle  John  Converted 194 

VIII.  New  Year's  Day 210 

IX.  Conclusion 230 


THE   BliANDY  DROPS 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DRUNKEN  WOMAN. 

School  was  out.  It  was  half  an  hour  later 
than  usual,  and  Mrs.  Martin  was  standing 
at  the  front  door,  looking  for  her  little 
boys.  Soon  one  of  them,  a  sprightly  lad 
of  ten,  came  running  up  with  his  satchel 
of  books.  He  had  spied  his  mother,  and 
hastened  his  steps  to  meet  her. 

"  You  are  late  home,  my  boy,''  was  the 
mother's  greeting. 

Charlie  raised  his  manly  face  to  meet 
his  mother's  eye,  with  such  a  pleasant, 
truth-telling  look,  that  she  could  not  doubt 
his  word  as  he  replied : 

"  Yes,  mother,  the  teacher  kept  us  half 
an  hour  to  teach  us  a  new  song.'* 


10  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  But  I  thought,"  said  the  mother,  "  that 
I  saw  you  loitering  down  the  street ;  and 
here  comes  Eddie,  who  stood  tliere  even 
longer  than  you." 

As  she  spoke  a  delicate  little  boy,  two 
years  younger  than  Charlie,  came  up  and 
put  his  hand  into  that  of  the  lady,  and  all 
three  went  into  the  house  together. 

"  Indeed,  mother,"  said  Eddie,  as  they 
pulled  off  their  caps,  and  came  into  the 
family  parlor,  "I did  not  think  I  was  stop- 
ping there  so  long  ;  we  were  just  looking 
at  a  poor  woman  that  was  going  by  on  a 
cart.  Did  you  see  her,  mother  ?  O  she 
did  look  so  bad !  She  had  on  no  bonnet 
or  shawd,  and  her  hair  was  all  down 
around  her  face." 

"Yes,  and  she  tried  to  get  up,"  said 
Charlie  ;  "  she  reached  out  her  hand,  and 
raised  herself  a  little,  and  then  she  fell 
back ;  and  her  face  was  all  swollen  up  so 
that  she  could  not  more  than  half  open 
her  eyes.  What  was  the  matter  with  her, 
mother?  I  never  saw  anybody  look  so 
bad  before !" 

"  I  suppose,   my   child,  that  slie   had 


THE   DRUNKEN   WOMAN.  11 

been  drinking,"  replied  Mrs.  Martin, 
slowly. 

"AVhatI  was  she  drunk?"  exclaimed 
both  the  boys  at  once.  "Well,  if  I  had 
known  that  she  was  only  a  drunkard," 
added  Charlie,  "  I  should  not  have  mind- 
ed her." 

"I  think,"  said  Eddie,  "that  she  was 
not  a  drunkard ;  she  was  a  woman,  and 
she  must  have  been  sick,  or  may  be  she 
had  been  hurt  in  some  way." 

"Eddie,  what  makes  people  drunk?" 
inquired  the  mother. 

"  Why,  drinking  wine,  and  rum,  and 
brandy,  or  some  such  thing,  I  suppose," 
was  Eddie's  reply. 

"  Well,  then,  if  a  woman  drinks  those 
things,  what  is  to  prevent  her  becoming  a 
drunkard  ?" 

"  But,  mother,  women  never  do  drink 
Buch  things,  do  they  ?" 

"  Sometimes  they  do,  Eddie." 

"  Well,  it  is  only  wicked  women  that  do 
80,"  said  Charlie. 

*'  Perhaps  they  were  good  once,"  replied 
\lie  mother ;  "  they  might  have  begun  by 


12  THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 

taking  a  little  because  they  thought  it 
would  do  them  good.  If  I  should  do  so 
too  when  I  feel  sick  or  tired,  perhaps  I 
might  one  day  appear  as  badly  as  the 
woman  on  the  cart  did." 

"  O  mother,  you  never  will  do  that, 
will  you?"  said  Eddie  in  a  tone  of  deep 
concern.  "  What  would  we  do  if  you 
should  ?" 

"  And  what  do  you  suppose  that  poor 
woman's  children  do?"  replied  Mrs.  Martin. 

"  Has  she  any  children  ?"  asked  Charlie. 

"  I  do  not  know,  Charlie  ;  she  may  have 
children  that  require  a  mother's  care  quite 
as  much  as  my  little  boys  do." 

"  But  you  never  do  drink  any  such 
thing,  I  know  ;  do  you,  mother  ?"  inquired 
Charlie. 

"  Why  not  ?"  responded  the  mother. 

"But  you  won't  for  our  sakes,  ni6ther; 
say  you  won't,"  pleaded  the  child ;  and  the 
tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  as  he  hid  his 
face  in  his  mother's  lap,  and  his  whole 
frame  shook  with  emotion  as  he  added : 
"  I  never  could  bear  to  see  my  mothej 
looking  80 !" 


THE  DRUNKEN  WOMAN.  13 

Little  Eddie  cried  too,  and  Mrs.  Martin 
herself  was  deeply  moved.  She  raised 
her  little  Charlie,  and  wiping  away  his 
tears,  said  : 

"No,  my  son,  I  think  you  need  not  be 
afraid ;  your  mother  has  promised  never 
to  drink  any  such  thing.  She  signed  the 
pledge  some  years  ago,  and  so  did  yonr 
father,  and  grandfather,  and  Uncle  George, 
and  sister  Amelia ;  and  I  want  you  and 
Eddie  to  sign  it  too,  by  and  by." 

"  What  is  the  pledge,  mother  ?"  asked 
Eddie. 

"  It  is  promising  never  to  drink  any- 
thing that  can  make  you  drunk,  and  writ- 
ing it  down  on  a  piece  of  paper,  and  sign- 
ing your  name  to  it." 

"  O  mother,"  said  Charlie,  "  we  shall 
never  drink  anything  to  make  us  drunk  !" 

"Yes,"  chimed  in  Eddie,  "I'd  promise 
that  very  quick." 

"Then  we  will  make  arrangements  to 
have  you  both  sign  the  pledge,  if  yon 
wish  to,"  was  Mrs.  Martin's  reply.  She 
thought  it  best  for  them  to  understand  its 
meaning  and  something  of  its  importance, 


14  THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 

before  they  made  such  a  promise.  And 
she  was  right,  for  they  would  be  much 
more  likely  to  keep  it,  and  feel  it  binding 
upon  them. 

"Why  all  so  sober?"  cried  Mr.  Martin 
coming  in  just  at  this  time. 

The  boys  both  ran  to  meet  their  father, 
and  soon  they  were  seated  one  on  each 
knee,  telling  all  they  had  seen  and  heard, 
while  their  mother  went  to  bring  little 
Winslow  from  the  nursery.  He  was  the 
baby,  a  cunning  little  fellow  just  running 
alone,  and  answering  to  the  call  of  "  Win- 
nie." When  the  father  came  home  late 
in  the  afternoon,  Winnie  was  always 
brought  down  from  the  nursery,  and  the 
whole  family  were  together  for  the  even- 
ing meal. 

"  Papa,  papa !"  cried  the  little  fellow, 
and  the  two  older  brothers  cheerfully 
jumped  down,  and  lifted  the  little  one  into 
papa's  lap,  while  they  drew  up  chaii-s  to 
his  side. 

"  So,"  said  Mr.  Martin  after  all  was  ar- 
ranged, "  you  have  been  promising  never 
to  drink  anvthing:  that  will  intoxicate." 


THE   DRUNKEN   WOMAN.  15 

'"^Intoxicate!  what  is  that,  fatlier?''  in 
quired  Eddie. 

"It  means  to  make  di'nnk,  my  son 
Any  liquor  that  makes  people  drunk  or 
tipsy  intoxicates  them,  and  is  called  an  in« 
toxicating  drink.  So  whe*^  people  take 
the  pledge,  they  promise  nov  to  drink  any- 
thing that  will  intoxicate.  Then  if  they 
keep  their  promise  they  never  became 
drunk  or  tipsy." 

"O  father!"  said  Charlie,  "I  think  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  for  that  woman  to 
sign  the  pledge.  I  wish  I  knew  where  she 
lives,  and  I  would  try  to  get  her  to  sign  it. 
It  would  do  her  children  so  much  o^ood." 

o 

"True,"  said  Mr.  Martin,  '  it  would  be 
a  good  thing  for  her  and  a  great  many 
others  like  her  to  sign  the  pledge.  But  it 
would  be  very  difficult  for  them  to  keep 
it,  because  they  have  learned  to  lovt. 
strong  drink.  The  best  way  is  for  people 
to  promise  while  young  never  to  drink,  and 
then  they  will  not  learn  to  love  it.  Shall 
I  tell  you  of  a  little  sailor  boy  who  took 
tii«  pledge  from  his  mother's  lips  once?" 

"O  ye?,  do!"  said  botii  th©  boys,  at  once. 


16  THE  BRANDY  DR0P8. 

"  "Well,  this  little  boy  lived  among  tLe 
green  hills  of  Vermont.  Who  can  telJ 
me  where  Vermont  is?" 

"  It  is  one  of  the  New-England  states, 
and  is  nearly  north  of  here,"  replied  Char 
lie. 

"And  how  much  sea-shore  has  it?" 

Charlie  thought  it  had  about  eighteen 
miles,  but  Eddie,  who  had  just  been  study- 
ing about  it,  and  had  a  very  good  mem- 
ory, was  sure  it  had  none. 

"  Eddie  is  right  this  time,"  said  the 
father;  "and  although  this  little  boy  was 
a  long  way  from  the  ocean,  he  took  it 
into  his  head  that  it  would  be  the  nicest 
thing  in  the  world  to  be  a  sailor.  Nothing 
else  would  satisfy  him.  His  father  and 
mother  were  poor,  and  he  their  only  child. 
It  \Ad-s  hard  parting,  but  they  could  not 
deny  him  what  he  wished  so  much.  Be- 
sides, too,  he  had  so  many  plans  in  his 
head  for  helping  them  by  and  by,  when 
he  should  have  earned  a  great  deal  of 
money,  and  come  back  to  them.  His 
little  bundle  of  clothing  was  made  up, 
and  on  a  bright  spring  morning  he  stood 


THE   DKVNKEN   WOMAN. 


17 


here  by  the  cottage-dooi,  with  his  hand  in 
.hat  of  his  mother,  and  the  big  tears  were 
in  his  eyes  as  she  gave  him  the  parting 
kiss. 


"  'My  son,  said  she, '  I  have  never  seen 
the  ocean,  but  they  tell  me  that  the  great 
temptation  of  the  sailor  is  strong  drink 
Now  promise  me,  my  son,  that  you  nevei 
will  touch  it.' 

"He  did  promise.  He  went  to  sen. 
lie  passed  through  sunshine,  storm,  and 
ehipwreck.  He  sailed  the  broad  world 
over;  to  tJalcutta,  to  the  Mediterranean, 
\nd  to  the  northern  and  the  southern 
oceans,  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  to 


18  THE   BRANDY    DROPS, 

San  Francisco.  He  saw  his  fellow -sai'\"^ 
drink  and  they  seemed  to  eiijoj  it,  and 
they  offered  it  to  him ;  but  in  all  his 
travels,  wherever  he  saw  the  glass  of 
liquor,  his  mother's  form  at  the  door  of  his 
liome  would  seem  to  come  up  before  him, 
and  he  never  touched  it,  never  once  tasted 
it.  And  when  at  the  age  of  sixty  he 
Baid,  'I  can  say  that  my  lips  are  innocent 
of  the  taste  of  strong  drink.' 

"He  is  now  rich  and  a  captain  ;  while 
his  parents  lived  he  sent  back  money 
enough  to  make  them  comfortable." 

"That  was  good  of  him,  father;  don't 
you  think  so  ?"  said  Charlie. 

"  I  do,  my  child.  But  that  was  not  all. 
He  was  once  on  a  ship  where  a  sailor 
came  on  board  drunk.  Every  one  else 
kicked  the  poor  fellow  around,  but  out 
captain  took  him  into  his  own  cabin,  and 
kept  him  there  until  he  had  slept  off  the 
intoxication.  Then  he  asked  him  if  he 
had  a  mother.  The  poor  man  said  that 
ghe  died  when  he  was  very  small  So  the 
captain  told  him  of  his  mother,  and  the 
promise  that  he  made  her  at  the  cottage 


THE   DRUNKEN'   WOMAN-  19 

Jour.  The  story  so  affected  the  poor  sailor 
that  he  gave  up  drinking.  That  was  some 
years  ago.  A  few  days  since  this  sailor 
called  on  the  captain,  and  told  liini  tliat 
he  was  still  a  sober  man,  and  had  become 
master  of  one  of  the  finest  packets  that 
sails  out  of  New-York. 

That  man,  it  seems,  learned  to  break 
off  his  bad  habit ;  but  the  best  way  is  to 
keep  clear  of  it,  as  the  Vermont  boy  did. 
INTow  if  you  sign  the  pledge  while  you  are 
boys,  before  you  have  ever  touched  it, 
then  you  can  have  it  to  say,  like  the  cap- 
tain, "I  know  not  even  how  it  tastes!" 

Charlie  and  Eddie  both  thought  they 
would  like  to  do  so,  and  their  mother  pro- 
posed that  father  should  bring  home  some 
cards  with  the  pledge  on  them  the  next 
day,  some  pretty  ones  that  would  be  worth 
keei)ing. 

You  may  be  sure  that  both  the  boys 
were  much  pleased  with  this  arrange- 
ment, and  after  suj^per  they  went  u))  stairs 
to  their  own  little  room.  There  they  had 
each  a  table  and  stool,  and  a  set  of  shelves 
where  they  kept  all  their  books.     Charlie 


20 


THE    BRAXDY   DROPS. 


said  he  would  put  his  pledge  away  in  the 
table-drawer,  but  Eddie  thought  the  nicest 
place  would  be  on  the  top  of  the  shelves, 
where  he  could  look  at  it  every  time  he 
came  into  the  room.  This  was  a  fine  idea, 
hut  Charlie  made  sport  of  it,  saying,  "  Just 
as  if  a  body  were  afraid  of  breaking  it! 
Wh}',  do  you  suppose  there  is  any  danger 
of  my  being  a  drunkard  ?" 


THE   POWER  OF    RIDICULE  21 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   POWER  OF   RIDICULE. 

TiFE  next  morning  on  their  way  to 
Bcliool  they  overtook  Clitford  Nash,  a 
school-mate,  some  two  or  three  years  older 
than  Charlie.  He  was  a  boy  that  had  a 
very  high  opinion  of  himself  and  of  his 
father's  purse,  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
lauirh  at  anvthini;  that  did  not  suit  him. 
Now  Charlie  had  one  serious  fault.  He 
may  have  had  several,  for  aught  I  know, 
but  this  one  was  worse  than  any  other: 
he  was  afraid  of  being  laughed  at.  He 
would  have  preferred  that  Clifford 
should  not  know  anything  about  their 
signing  the  pledge.  But  just  as  soon  as 
they  were  within  hearing  Eddie  sung  out: 
"Say,  Cliff,  we  are  going  to  sign  the  tem- 
perance pledge !  Father  is  going  to  get 
us  some  nice  copies  of  one." 

"The  what!"  exclaimed  Clifford,  turn- 


22  THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 

ing  on  hi8  heel,  and  stopping  short  before 
them  with  an  air  of  surprise. 

"Why,  the  temperance  pledge!"  con 
tinned  Eddie  in  his  simplicity.  "  We  are 
going  to  promise  never  to  taste  anything 
tliat  wonld  make  anybody  drunk,  just  as 
the  little  sailor  bey  did ;  are  we  not,  Char- 
lie ?" 

"  O,  nonsense!  what  of  it?"  exclaimed 
Charlie  in  a  pet.  ''Why  can  you  never 
hold  your  tongue?" 

"  Vinegar  and  pepper  !"  cried  Clifford. 
"What  is  the  matter?  Been  taking  a 
little  drop  too  much,  I  suppose,  and  father 
has  found  it  out,  and  is  afraid  his  son  will 
learn  to  dissipate,  so  he  wants  him  to  take 
the  pledge,  eh  ?"  and  he  gave  Charlie  a 
nudge  with  his  elbow. 

Charlie  was  too  much  surprised  to  reply 
at  once,  and  he  stood  looking  at  him  in 
silence.  This  was  answered  by  a  taunting 
laugh  from  the  young  lad,  who  added, 
"  Wonder,  how  I  found  it  out,  eh  ?" 

"  It  is  no  such  thing  ?"  returned  Charlie 
indignantl}^.  "  There  is  not  a  word  of 
truth  in  it." 


THE   POWER  OF   RIDICULE.  23 

"()  no,  of  course  not!"  retorted  Clif- 
ford. "  He  wants  3'ou  to  take  the  pledge 
jnst  for  nothing.  But  you  need  not  be 
Bo  hufty  about  it.  A  plagued  bit  do  I 
care  when  I  am  found  out.  And  tny  pop 
knows  better  than  to  try  to  get  me  to  sign 
the  pledge,  for  I'd  break  it  every  day.  J)o 
you  suppose  I  would  go  without  my  wine 
after  dinner?"  said  he,  drawing  himself 
up  pompously.  "  Perhaps  you  never  tasted 
of  wine.  Don't  have  it  at  your  table,  do 
you?" 

"  No,  indeed  !"  replied  Eddie,  speaking 
up  bravely,  "and  I  hope  we  never  shall." 

"  You !"  said  Clifford  with  a  sneer. 
"  What  do  you  know  about  it?  Just  wait 
till  you  get  ofi'  your  frocks,  won't  you  ?" 

"  I  know  that  wine  and  brandy  do  a 
great  deal  of  mischief  in  the  world,  but 
I  do  not  mean  they  shall  ever  hurt  me," 
replied  the  boy. 

*'  Quite  a  preacher  to  be  sure !"  waa 
the  reply.  But  Eddie  cared  very  little 
for  his  sneers.  A  good  thing  it  is  for  man 
or  boy  if  he  dare  say  and  do  what  is  right 
without  being  moved  by  ridicule. 


84  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

By  tLis  time  they  were  in  tlie  scliool 
room,  and  the  bold,  bad  boy,  Clifford,  cried 
out: 

"  Halloo,  boys !  want  to  see  the  ele« 
phant?  Here  are  two  little  chaps  so  far 
gone  that  they  have  to  turn  teetotalers 
and  take  the  pledge  ;  ha !  ha !  ha !"  and 
the  rude  fellow  laughed  at  his  own  in- 
solence. 

Just  now  the  teacher  entered,  and  tlie 
noise  was  somewhat  hushed  ;  but  some  of 
the  scholars  gathered  around  the  three 
boys.  Clifford  went  on  with  his  nonsense, 
but  Charlie  turned  away  in  a  pet,  without 
answering  any  of  their  questions. 

"  What  is  it,  Eddie  ?"  inquired  Jamie 
Williams. 

"  Why,  I  told  Cliff  that  Charlie  and  I 
were  going  to  sign  the  pledge,  and  he  is 
making  a  great  fuss  about  it,  and  says  that 
it  is  because  we  have  been  getting  ti^jsy ; 
but  it's  no  such  thing." 

"  Well,  then,  what  do  you  want  to  take 
the  pledge  for?"  asked  Jamie 

"  Why,  you  see,  it  is  just  a  promise 
that  we  never  will  drink  anything  to  make 


THE    POWER   OF    RIDICULE.  25 

.18  tipsy,"  replied  Eddie.  "Father  told 
as  last  night  ahout  a  sailor  boy  that 
promised  his  iiiofher,  before  he  went 
away,  that  he  never  would  drink.  And 
he  never  did  ;  and  by  and  by  he  got  to  be 
a  captain." 

"Tell  me  all  about  it,''  said  Jamie 

So  Eddie  told  him  what  he  could  re- 
member of  the  story.  '*  And  now,"  said 
he,  "  I'd  like  to  have  it  to  say  when  I'm 
sixty  years  old,  that  I  have  never  tasted 
liquor." 

"  Haven't  you  tasted  it  already  ?"  asked 
Jamie. 

"  Why,  no !"  said  Eddie,  looking  quite 
surprised,  as  if  the  thing  was  impossible. 

"  Then  all  I  have  to  say  is,  that  yon  do 
not  know  how  good  it  is." 

"  Why,  have  you  ever  drank  any  ?"  in- 
quired Eddie  in  his  turn. 

"  Yes,  indeed  ;  I  have  drank  lager  beer, 
and  it  is  first-rate.  To  be  sure  it  tastes 
quite  bitter  at  first,  but  then  I  thought  i* 
must  be  good,  for  you  know  so  many  men 
drink  it,  and  I  like  it  now.  It  is  firsts 
rate." 


26  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  Does  your  father  know  that  ycu  tako 
it?" 

"  No,  lie  don't  know  anything  abont  it ; 
but  then  he  takes  a  little  himself  now  and 
then." 

"  Your  father  drink  !"  exclaimed  Eddie. 

"  Yes,  he  takes  brandy,  or  porter,  or 
Bomething  nice ;  but  it  is  all  the  same, 
and  it  is  just  as  good  for  me  as  for  him. 
He  takes  it  when  he  comes  in  from  the 
sliop  at  night,  just  for  medicine,  he  says. 
You  see  that  is  enough  to  show  that  he 
thinks  it  is  good,  and  I'm  bound  I'll  have 
some  too." 

"How  can  you  get  it?  Does  your 
father  give  it  to  you  ?" 

"  He?  Not  a  drop  of  it.  I  'spect  he 
would  lick  me  if  he  knew  that  I  took  it. 
It  is  when  mother  sends  me  to  the  corner 
grocery  that  I  get  it.  When  the  men  drink 
off  their  beer  there  is  almost  always  some 
left  in  the  mugs,  and  so  I  drink  it  up  ;  and 
once  or  twice  Peter  gave  me  a  glass  all  tc 
myself." 

The  signal  for  silence  was  now  heard, 
and  it  found  quite  a  number  of  boys  m 


THE   POWER  OF   RIDICULE.  27 

ihat  scliool-room  thinking  aDoiit  the  sub- 
ject of  Temperance,  and  many  of  them 
came  to  the  conchision  tliat  Charlie  and 
Eddie  did  quite  riglit  in  signing  the 
pledge.  At  recess  Cliifurd  tried  to  get 
up  a  nickname  for  the  two  boys.  He 
called  them  cold-water  boys,  but  it  did 
not  go  very  well.  Yery  few  of  the  boya 
really  liked  ClifFord,  and  besides  they 
had  learned  by  this  time  that  Charlie  and 
Eddie  had  not  been  getting  tipsy.  So 
there  was  very  little  said  on  the  subject, 
though  the  most  that  was  said  was  on  tho 
wrong  side.  It  is  a  bad  way  of  doing 
things,  I  know,  but  somehow  it  is  a  fact, 
that  good  boys  are  not  as  bold  to  talk  out 
for  the  right,  as  bad  boys  are  for  the 
wrong.  I  wish  it  were  not  so ;  but  I  do 
not  know  how  it  can  be  helped,  unless 
good  boys  will  talk  right  out  what  they 
feel,  and  not  be  afraid.  And  I  am  sure 
they  have  not  half  so  much  to  be  afraid 
of  as  bad  boys  have.  The  very  feeling 
that  they  are  right  ought  to  be  enough 
for  them. 

Charlie  was   very  ill-natured  all   dav 


28  THE   BRANDY  DROPS, 

It  was  veiy  iinw:se  in  hitn  to  be  S(\  foi 
many  of  the  boys  would  have  taken  his 
part  if  he  had  shown  a  little  more  lova- 
ble temper  about  it.  You  may  depend 
upon  it  that  it  is  very  poor  policy  to 
be  ill-natured.  Smiles  are  cheap ;  tiiey 
make  the  one  who  smiles  happy,  and 
win  him  a  great  many  friends.  But  it  is 
hard  work  to  be  cross ;  it  makes  one  feel 
so  tired  and  uncomfortable  ! 

Charlie  was  in  no  mood  to  be  pleased 
with  the  pretty  cards  which  his  father 
brought  home  that  evening.  He  did  not 
venture  so  far  as  to  speak  crossly  about 
them,  but  he  paid  the  least  possible  atten- 
tion to  them,  and  said  nothing. 

Eddie  was  delighted  with  them,  as  well 
he  might  be.  They  were  each  larger  than 
his  two  hands,  with  red  and  blue  and  green 
letters  on  them,  and  read  thus : 

"  We  do  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  ab- 
stain entirely  from  the  purchase,  sale,  and 
use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  except  for  me- 
chanical or  medicinal  purposes.  We  also 
pledge  ourselves  not  to  offer  them  to  our 


THE   POWER  OF  KIDICULE.  29 

..riends,  excepting  for  tliese  purposes  ;  ami 
we  will  by  all  suitahle  means  exert  our 
influence  against  their  use  as  a  beverage, 
in  the  nation  and  in  the  world." 


"And  here  is  a  place  for  the  name!" 
Baid  Eddie  joyousl3^  "O,  father,  how 
very  kind  you  are  !" 

"But  what  is  the  matter  with  you, 
Charlie?"  inquired  Mr.  Martin.  "Don't 
you  like  your  pledge,  my  son  ?" 

Charlie  looked  contused.  He  did  not 
know  what  answer  to  make  to  this  kind 
appeal.  But  it  so  happened  that  he  was 
not  obliged  to  say  anything,  for  just  then 
there  was  a  loud  ring  at  the  door,  and  in 
another  moment  their  sister  A  meHa  bound 
ed  into  the  room,  followed  more  leisurely 
by  their  Uncle  George.  She  was  very 
glad  to  see  father,  and  mother,  and  hej 
little  brothers;  and  they  la  turn  were  very 
glad  to  see  her. 

She  had  been  away  from  home  two 
months,  visiting  at  Uncle  George's.  She 
did  not  expect  to  remain  so  long,  but  she 
had  found  hei-  dt-ar  grandmother  in  poor 


so  THE    BRANDY   DROPS. 

health,  and  very  glad  of  her  comp^Lj ;  so 
she  had  remained,  with  the  consent  of 
her  parents.  She  would  read  to  the  dear 
old  lady,  talk  with  her,  sing  to  her,  and  take 
her  out  in  little  walks  around  the  yard, 
and  accompany  her  in  her  morning  drives. 
It  is  delightful  to  see  the  young  giving  up 
their  own  pleasure,  and  spending  their 
time  in  comforting  the  lonely  homes  of  the 
aged. 

As  the  fall  advanced  and  the  weather 
became  cooler,  grandmamma's  health  was 
better,  and  it  was  thought  best  that  Ame- 
lia should  come  home  and  go  to  school 
So  home  she  came,  and  Uncle  George 
with  her.  And  what  a  time  they  did  have 
talking  about  the  good  folks  at  home,  the 
little  cousins,  the  favorite  pony,  and  I 
know  not  what  all ! 

At  any  rate  the  pledges  were  forgotten 
for  that  night,  only  Eddie  took  the  pre- 
caution to  put  his  up  in  the  bookcase. 
Charlie  carelessly  laid  his  down  on  the 
table.  While  they  were  all  so  busily 
talKing  with  Uncle  George  and  sister 
Amelia,  little  Winnie,  who  was  just  tall 


THE  POWER   OK   RIDICULE.  31 

enough  to  pull  things  off  the  table,  reached 
np  Ills  chubby  little  hand  and  made  a 
prize  of  the  colored  card.  Then  he  sat 
down  just  under  tlie  table  to  look  it  all 
over  with  his  baby  eyes,  and  diool  on  it, 
and  poke  it  over  with  his  wet  baby  fin- 
gers ;  and  O  how  pretty  he  did  think  it 
was !  And  nobody  saw  him,  at  least  no 
one  said  anything  about  it,  or  took  it  away 
from  him  ;  but  I  think  that  Charlie  felt  a 
little  guilty  when  he  went  to  bed  that 
night,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he 
went  to  sleep. 


S2  THE   BRANDT    DROPS. 


CHAFli-iC  m. 

THE    BRANDY   DROPS. 

It  was  late  when  Charlie  awoke  tlie 
next  morning;,  but  he  had  not  slept  off  the 
ill-nature  of  the  day  before.  The  remeni 
brance  of  its  events  hung  gloomily  over 
liis  young  heart,  that  ought  to  have  been 
rejoicing  like  a  lark  in  the  bright  sunshine 
of  that  happy  morning.  The  breakfast 
bell  rang  before  he  was  half  dressed,  and 
when  he  ran  down  stairs,  liis  ill-humor  was 
in  no  way  appeased  by  learning  that  his 
Uncle  George  had  already  left  in  the 
early  train.  He  came  near  being  sent 
away  from  the  table  for  making  his  sistei 
a  short  answer. 

What  can  be  the  matter  with  the  usually 
amiable  C  iuirlie  ?  Ah,  he  is  not  his  own 
master;  he  has  not  the  manly  independ- 
ence that  dares  to  do  right.  He  does  not 
exactly  wish  to  do  wrong,  but  he  is  afraid 


THE   BRANDY   DROPS.  33 

jf  being  laughed  at  if  he  does  right.  This 
man-fearing  spirit  will  make  Charlie  & 
great  deal  of  trouble  through  life,  if  he 
does  not  get  rid  of  it. 

After  prayers  Eddie  ran  to  get  his  tem- 
perance pledge  to  show  it  to  his  sister.  In 
passing  through  the  room  to  the  bookcase, 
what  sliould  he  see  but  his  brother's  card 
on  the  carpet,  torn  and  soiled.  On  his 
return  Ik;  bi'ought  it  to  Cliarlie,  saying: 

"  See  here,  I  found  your  card  all  torn, 
under  the  table." 

"  Why,  what  does  that  mean  ?"  inquired 
his  mother. 

"  I  put  it  on  the  table,  and  I  suppose 
Winnie  got  hold  of  it,"  was  Charlie's  re- 
ply, i)ut  his  face  turned  red. 

"  Well,  that  is  a  pity,  certainly  ,  out 
you  should  not  have  put  it  the^e,''  was 
the  kind  mother's  remark.  "  Your  father 
will  not  be  pleased  with  your  carelessness, 
nor  very  willing  to  get  you  another  one  " 

Charlie  ventured  no  reply,  but  in  his 
wricked  little  heart  he  thought  that  would 
jUst  suit  him. 

As  the  day  passed  on  he  could  not  get 

3 


84  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

rid  of  the  feeling  that  he  had  not  acted  a 
truthful  part  that  morning  toward  his 
mother.  It  was  in  vain  he  tried  to  per- 
suade himself  that  he  did  not  tell  a  lia 
He  did  tell  her  that  he  supposed  Winnie 
had  done  it.  But  did  he  suppose  any 
such  thing  ?  No ;  he  Ixuew  that  Winnie 
did  it ;  he  tried  to  deceive  his  mother  by 
making  her  think  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  it.  That  was,  to  all  efl'ects  and  pur- 
poses, telling  a  lie;  he  had  done  wrong, 
and  he  knew  it.  I  do  not  wonder  that  he 
felt  bad. 

At  recess  that  day  a  boy  named  Jeffer- 
son Townley,  one  of  Clifford's  friends, 
came  up  to  Charlie  and  said  tauntingly, 
"So  you  have  been  signing  the  pledge! 
How  do  you  feel  after  it,  eh  ?"  and  more 
talk  of  the  same  kind,  until  Charlie  was 
quite  out  of  patience,  and  broke  out  with 
a  denial  of  signing  the  pledge  altogethei. 
Upon  this  Clifford  called  him  a  liar,  and 
referred  to  Eddie  to  prove  his  signing  the 
pledge.  But  Eddie  was  not  to  be  found, 
and  Charlie  finished  by  declaring  again 
that  he  had  not  signed  the  pledge,  and 


THE   BRANDY  DROPS.  36 

what  was  more,  he  did  not  intend  to,     H« 
bad  torn  it  up,  and  that  was  the  end  of  it 

"Well,"  said  Clifford,  "you  are  a  tee 
totaler  any  how;  you  told  me  so  yester 
day." 

"It  is  no  such  thing!"  was  Charlie's 
short  reply.  "I  did  not  say  anything 
about  signing  the  pledge,  or  being  a  tee- 
totaler either." 

"  Well,  Eddie  said  so  if  you  did  not." 

"I  have  nothing  to  do  with  what  Eddie 
said.     He  can  answer  for  himself" 

"  Come,  now,  you  need  not  be  so  crusty 
about  it.  I  dare  say  you  would  not  take 
a  drop  if  your  life  depended  on  it.  For 
my  part  I  think  it  is  really  mean  to  be 
obliged  to  promise  not  to  take  a  drop,  just 
as  if  you  were  afraid  to  trust  yourself 
Now  I've  learned  to  take  just  enough  and 
know  when  to  stop,"  said  the  little  big 
man  with  an  important  air. 

"  I  am  just  as  free  to  drink  as  you  are,^ 
was  Charlie's  boastful  answer. 

"I  dare  you  to  do  it,"  said  Jefferson. 
•'You  would  not  even  venture  to  eat  a 
brandy  drop." 


S6  THE   BRANDY   DROPS 

"  Just  try  me,"  said  Charles.  Poor 
Doj  I  He  had  forgotten  the  petition, "  Lead 
ns  not  into  temptation."  He  thought  he 
would  just  take  enough  to  show  them  that 
he  was  not  afraid  to  do  it.  But  there  was 
no  moral  courage  about  that ;  he  would 
have  shown  much  more  if  he  had  boldly 
stood  up  for  his  temperance  principles. 

Jeiferson  ran  for  the  candies,  and  when 
he  came  back  reached  out  a  handful  to 
Charlie,  who  ofiered  to  pick  up  one.  Clif- 
ford seeing  this,  burst  into  a  loud  laugh, 
saying:  "I  told  you  so.  See!  the  fellow 
is  afraid  of  them.  Take  a  lot  of  them, 
boy." 

So  he  took  them,  and  the  others  took 
some  also,  to  show  their  bravery.  When 
he  had  eaten  those,  he  must  needs  take 
more,  for  they  were  just  as  ready  to  laugh 
at  him  now  as  at  the  first.  Truly,  the 
fear  of  ridicule  is  a  vevy  hard  master 
They  all  watched  him  and  kept  him  eat- 
ing until  the  school-bell  rang,  which  put 
an  end  to  their  sport,  or  I  do  not  know 
but  they  would  have  killed  the  poor  little 
coward. 


THE   BRANDY   DROPS.  37 

After  Cliarlie  returned  to  his  seat,  1iq 
began  to  feel  very  bad.  He  knew  that 
he  liad  been  doing  very  wrong.  AYliat 
would  his  father  and  mother  say  if  they 
found  it  out  ?  He  hoped  they  would  nevct 
know  anything  about  [<,.  He  was  glad 
that  Eddie  did  not  see  him  eat  them. 
But  suppose  some  of  the  boys  should 
tell  Eddie,  and  he  was  quite  sure  they 
would.  He  looked  toward  C'.itfoi'd,  and 
his  glance  was  met  with  a  teasing  smile, 
and  a  motion  toward  the  cheeks.  Char- 
lie put  up  his  hands  and  found  them  burn- 
ing hot.  His  head  seemed  heavy  and 
ready  to  burst,  and  now  a  faint  suspicion 
crossed  his  mind  that  this  was  the  effec* 
of  the  brandy.  But  he  could  not  think 
much  about  anything.  The  room  seemed 
full  of  strange  sounds,  and  the  teacher  a 
great  way  ofl".  Some  of  the  boys  looked 
as  big  as  horses,  and  appeared  to  be  mak- 
ing faces  at  him,  and  liually  all  seerao'l 
to  fade  quite  away. 


38  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARLIE'S   REPENTANCE. 

When  Charlie  next  knew  anything  of 
what  was  going  on  about  him  it  was  even- 
ing, and  he  found  himself  in  bed  at 
home.  His  head  ached  dreadfully,  and 
he  felt  so  tired  that  he  could  hardly  stir 
He  tried  to  tliink  wliat  had  happened,  but 
only  remembei'ed  some  one  teasing  and 
trying  to  waken  liim.  He  felt  very  mi% 
erable  and  very  thirsty.  He  lolled  up 
his  aching  eyes  and  saw  his  mother  sitting 
near  the  head  of  the  bed. 

"  Mother,"  he  said  faintly,  "  I  woula 
like  some  water." 

It  was  given  him  and  he  drank  eagerly, 
How  cooling  it  was  to  his  burning  frame. 

"  Mother,   what  has  happened  ?     How 
did  I  come  here?" 

"  Don't  you   know,  my   son,  anything 
about  it  ?" 


Charlie's  repentance.  39 

"No,  mother,  I  do  not." 

"  Well,  think  about  it  a  little,  and  per 
iiaps  you  will  remember." 

He  closed  his  eyes  wearily  and  turned 
iiis  face  toward  the  wall.  The  bad  feel 
ing  in  his  stomach  soon  reminded  him 
that  he  had  been  eating  something. 
Slowly  the  facts  came  up  before  his  mind 
one  by  one — Clifford  teasing  him  about  the 
pledge,  the  brandy  drops  that  he  had 
eaten,  his  bad  feelings  afterward.  Was  it 
possible  that  he  had  been  drunk?  Did 
his  parents  know  what  was  the  matter 
with  him?  And  his  teacher  and  school- 
mates must  all  have  known  about  it,  for 
he  remembered  that  it  came  on  in  the 
Bchool-room.  And  this,  too,  after  all  his 
talk  about  temperance,  and  his  repeated 
assertion  that  there  was  no  danger  in  hi:* 
case. 

Then  came  up  before  his  mind  the  pic- 
ture of  the  woman  on  the  cart.  Was  it 
possible  that  he  had  come  home  to  his 
mother  looking  and  acting  like  her?  and 
that,  too,  after  what  had  been  said  about 
.t.     What  would  thev  all  think  of  him 


40  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

How  could  he  look  them  in  the  face 
again.  Such  were  the  bitter  thoughts  that 
ran  through  his  mind. 

By  and  by  the  door  opened,  and  he 
knew  his  father's  step.  Mr.  Martin  came 
to  the  bedside,  and  said,  "  Charles,  my 
son,"  and  O  how  full  of  grief  was  the 
sound  of  his  voice.  Charles  looked  up 
for  a  moment,  and  then  his  eyes  dropped, 
and  he  hid  his  face  in  the  bed-clothing. 
He  had  nothing  to  say.  A  half-sup 
pressed  groan  escaped  the  father,  and 
after  a  few  minutes  he  left  the  room. 

Then  came  his  mother  and  brushtd 
back  the  heavy  masses  of  hair,  and  bathed 
his  forehead  in  ice-water,  and  as  her  cool 
fingers  rested  on  his  burning  temples,  he 
felt,  O  how  sorry,  that  he  had  ever 
grieved  such  a  kind  mother. 

"  M}  mother,  my  dear  mother !"  he 
murmured,  throwing  his  arms  around  her 
neck;  "I  am  so  sorry!  I  did  not  mean 
to  do  so,  indeed  I  did  not,"  and  then  came 
a  gush  of  tears. 

He  felt  the  kiss  of  forgiveness  on  his 
cheek,  and   he  felt  also  the  warm   tear- 


CHARLIE'S   REPENTANCE.  41 

Arops  fall,  and  he  knew  that  his  niothei 
was  weeping  for  him. 

"  Now,  mj  son,"  said  the  quiet  voice  of 
his  mother,  "you  are  sick,  and  must  rest. 
Think  no  more  of  this  till  yon  are  better.'' 

"  But,  mother,  suppose  1  should  die 
You  will  forgive  me,  now  won't  you, 
mother?  I  have  been  so  naughty;  and 
I  never,  never  will  grieve  you  so  again,  if 
I  should  live  to  be  a  hundred  years 
old." 

"  AVell,  then,  my  son,  let  nie  know  how 
it  all  happened." 

So  in  sorrowful  words  and  broken  sen 
tences  Charlie  related  all  that  he  could 
remember  of  the  occurrences  of  the  day. 

"  And  who  was  the  one  mostly  to  blame 
ir  all  thiuT'  inquired  the  motlier. 

"  It  was  I,  mother.  I  know  it  was  all 
iiiy  own  fault;  but  I  did  not  dream  of 
Buch  a  thing  as  this."  He  faltered,  and 
again  he  burst  into  tears. 

"  No,  my  son,"  said  his  mother  sootli 
ingly ;    "I  do  not  suppose  that  you  had 
any  such  purpose.     But  do  you  not  see 
that    it    all    results    from    fear   of   beinu; 


*2  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

laughed  at?  You  had  no  wish  to  be 
real! J  on  the  side  of  wrong,  and  jet  yon 
had  not  the  courage  to  come  out  and  de- 
clare yourself  on  the  side  of  right.  That 
is  just  what  ruins  so  many  persons.  They 
cannot  boldly  say  No !  when  asked  to 
take  a  drink.  So  that  my  dear  boy  has 
really  taken  the  same  first  step  that  has 
made  so  many  drunkards." 

"  O  mamma,  I  am  not  going  to  be  a 
drunkard,"  sobbed  Charlie. 

"  I  hope  not,  my  son  ;  and  yet  how  can 
I  be  sure  of  it,  if  you  are  so  much  afraid 
of  ridicule  ?" 

The  little  boy  made  no  reply  to  this  for 
some  minutes.     At  last  he  said  : 

"  Well,  mother,  I  will  try  and  not  care 
what  they  say,  so  long  as  1  know  that  I  am 
in  the  right." 

"That  is  just  what  I  wish,  my  child," 
Baid  the  mother,  caressing  him  tenderly  ; 
"and  you  have  my  entire  forgiveness." 

"  Can  I  not  see  father  now  ?"  inquired 
Cliarlie. 

His  mother  left  the  room,  and  after  a 
few  moments  returned  with   his   father 


CHARLIE'S  REPENTANCE.  43 

The  latter  had  a  short  talk  with  his,  little 
Doy,  which  ended  by  his  saying : 

"Yes,  my  son,  I  freely  forgive  you  the 
past,  but  I  shall  wait  with  some  anxiety  to 
Bee  whether  your  conduct  -will  show  that 
I  can  fully  trust  your  promises  for  the 
future.  But  you  must  not  forget  that  you 
have  sinned  against  God,  that  you  must 
ask  his  forgiveness,  and  that  you  must  not 
undertake  to  do  any  good  thing  in  your 
own  strength." 

The  fatlier  left  the  bedside,  and  the  son 
closed  his  eyes  in  prayer. 

The  next  day,  which  was  Friday,  Charlie 
was  much  better,  but  did  not  leave  the 
house.  They  were  all  very  kind  to  him, 
his  parents,  Amelia,  and  Eddie  ;*  but  not 
a  word  was  said  about  the  doings  of  the 
day  before.  Charlie  was  sober  and 
thoughtful,  and  spent  most  of  the  day  in 
reading,  or  amusing  his  little  baby  brotlier. 
Toward  night  his  father  came  in,  and 
Bitting  down  he  drew  Charlie  gently  be- 
tween his  knees  and  folded  liis  arms  around 
him.  What  a  nice,  quiet  place  thai 
was! 


44  THE  BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  How  does  nij  son  feel  to-night  {"  in 
quired  the  father  gently. 

"  A  great  deal  better,  father^''  was  the 
reply. 

Finally,  after  a  long  pause,  Charlie  said ' 

"  Father." 

"  What  is  it,  my  son  ?" 

"I  was  thinking  if  I  could  only  always 
have  your  arms  around  me  so,  how  very 
easy  it  would  be  never  to  do  wrong." 

"  And  what  else  did  you  think  ?" 

"  O,  I  know  that  you  cannot  always  be 
with  me." 

"  ]^o  ;  and  what  follows  then  ?" 

"I  suppose  I  must  learn  to  take  care  of 
myself." 

"  That  is  it,  my  child.  I  may  be  able 
to  do  very  much  for  you  now,  but  the 
time  will  come  when  you  must  altogether 
take  care  of  yourself.  You  must  learn  to 
judge  for  yourself,  and  act  for  yourself, 
or  you  will  be  always  getting  into  trouble." 

"Yes,  father;  and  I  have  been  think- 
ing all  day  how  foolish  I  was  to  care  at  aU 
for  what  the  boys  said,  so  I'^ng  as  I  knew 
that  I  was  in  the  right." 


CHARLIE'S    REPENTANCE.  45 

"True,  my  cliild  ;  mid  liow  coulil  you, 
c\-lit'ii  you  knew  that  your  heavenly  Fatlier 
was  watchino;  over  you,  and  wilhng  to 
keep  you,  wliose  arms,  if  you  wouhl  per- 
mit, woukl  be  thrown  about  j'ou  all  the 
day,  and  encircle  you  much  more  closely 
even  than  mine  do  now." 

"  O  father,  I  would  like  to  be  kept  so ; 
but  how  can  I?  I  want  to  do  right,  but 
just  so  soon  as  I  think  that  anybody  is 
looking  at  me,  and  making  s])ort  of  me,  I 
forget  all  about  doing  right." 

"  You  must  go  to  God,  my  child,  and 
tell  him  all  about  it.  lie  sees  all  youi 
trouble,  and  knows  how  to  ]>ity  and  help 
you.  Then  all  through  the  day  you  must 
remember  that  God  is  close  by  you,  and 
you  must  try  to  please  him.  You  must 
watch  yourself  carefully,  and  try  to  think 
more  about  God  than  about  those  that  are 
laughing  at  you." 

"  I  will  try  to  do  so,  father.  But  wliac 
did  my  mother  mean  last  night  when  she 
said  that  I  had  taken  the  same  first  step 
that  made  so  many  drunkards?" 

"  I  suppose  she   meant  that  you  had 


»6  THE   BRANDY   DROPS, 

yielded  the  first  time  tlirongh  fear  of  being 
laughed  at." 

"  Is  that  the  way  with  everybody?" 

"  Not  with  eveiybody.  But  people 
commence  drinking  in  that  way,  perhaps, 
more  frequently  than  m  any  other,  Sliall 
I  tell  you  a  story  of  such  a  case  ?" 

"  Yes,  father,  do  if  you  please," 

"  Some  years  ago,  in  the  city  of  Glas- 
gow, in  Scotland,  there  were  some  young 
people  out  on  a  holiday  excursion.  It  was 
the  birthday  of  Queen  Victoria.  These 
young  people  were  going  on  a  sailing  ex- 
cursion. It  was  a  very  bright,  pleasant 
morning,  and  as  some  of  them  stood  there 
talking  on  the  deck  in  the  best  of  spirits, 
one  of  the  young  men  brought  along  a 
bottle  of  whisky  and  a  glass. 

" '  Here,  my  pretty  miss,  is  a  glass  to 
drink  your  health,'  said  he  to  one  of  them 

"'O  no,'  she  replied.  'I  have  signed 
the  pledge.' 

" '  Beg  your  pardon,'  said  he,  turning 
around ;  '  I  hope  this  other  lady  is  not  a 
teetotaler,' 

"*Not  at  all,'  replied  the  young  man 


CHARLIE'S  REPENTANCE. 


47 


that  was  witli  her.  'Sally  and  I  both 
know  how  to  drink  just  enough  to  do  us 
good,  without  taking  too  much  ;  and  that 
is  the  way  to  do  it,  I  think.' 

"  As  he  said  this  the  young  stranger 
raised  the  full  glass  to  Sally's  lips.  She 
jnst  tasted  it,  and  was  turning  away,  when 
her  companion  said,  '  Tut,  Sally,  you  are 
not  afraid  of  one  glass,  surely  ;  one  will  not 


i8  THE   BRAXDV  DROPS. 

hurt  you.'  She  really  did  not  like  to  do  it, 
hut  she  yielded  to  their  persuasions,  and 
drank  it  off.  She  was  afraid  of  being 
laughed  at  aid  called  a  teetotaler. 

"  After  a  month  Sally  and  her  young 
friend  were  married,  and  by  and  by  her 
husband  found  tliat  she  began  to  love  the 
vile  stuff  that  he  had  once  coaxed  her  to 
drink.  Drunkenness  in  a  woman  is  not  so 
commun  as  among  men,  but  it  seems 
even  more  horrible.  It  was  in  vain  that 
her  husband  tried  to  dissuade  her.  She 
had  drank  to  please  him,  and  now  slie 
would  drink  to  please  herself.  He  signed 
the  pledge  hoping  that  she  would  do  the 
same.  But  no;  she  grew  worse  and 
worse,  and  at  last  she  died. 

"The  other  girl  and  her  companion 
were  also  married.  They  kept  to  their 
temperance  principles,  and  tried  to  win 
others  to  their  opinions,  till  finally  the 
husband  became  a  temperance  lecturer. 
His  house  was  the  very  picture  of  peace 
and  happiness.  Now,  which  way  do  you 
think  was  the  best?" 

"  O,  the   last  of  course,  a  great  deal 


CHARLIE'S   REPENTANCE.  40 

But  did  the  pledge  help  them  to  do  all 
that,  father?"  inquired  Charlie. 

"  Yes,  my  boy." 

"  And  do  you  suppose  the  pledge  would 
really  do  me  any  good  ?" 

"I  think  so." 

"How,  father?" 

"Wouhl  you  have  ventured  to  take 
even  one  of  those  brandy  drops,  if  you  had 
promised  to  abstain  from  everything  that 
would  intoxicate?" 

"  I  suppose  not." 

"  You  see,  too,  that  would  be  sufficient 
excuse  for  all  who  might  be  asked  to  take 
any  such  thing.  They  have  signed  the 
pledge,  that  is  enough." 

''Then,  father,  I'd  like  to  sign  the 
pledge.  I  did  not  see  before  how  it 
would  be  of  any  use  to  me.  I  thought  it 
was  only  for  men  that  could  not  stop 
drinking  without  nuiking  a  promise  not  tt- 
touch  it.  That  was  what  the  boys 
said." 

"  If  you  would  pay  more  attention  to 
"^'hat  father  and  mother  say,  and  not 
mind  the  boys,  you  would  generally  find 
4 


50  THE   BRANDY   DROrs. 

yourself  in  the  safest  path.  Don't  you 
think  so?" 

"Yes,  father,  and  I'd  like  to  sign  the 
pledge,  if  you  will  get  me  another  instead 
of  that  one  which  was  torn  np." 

"  You  shall  have  it  to-morrow.  But 
hark,  there  is  the  tea-bell." 

"  Wait,  papa,"  said  Charles,  hanging 
back. 

"  What  is  it,  my  son  ?" 

"  I  was  very  naughty  about  that  card 
you  brought  me  the  other  day.  I  saw 
Winnie  when  he  tore  it  up,  and  I  might 
have  taken  it  away  from  him  as  well  as 
not." 

"Well,  why  did  you  not?" 

"I  was  vexed  about  it,  father,  because 
Eddie  had  told  at  school  that  you  were 
going  to  get  the  pledges  for  us,  and  the 
boys  laughed  at  me." 

"  O  my  son !"  said  Mr.  Martin,  with 
great  concern,  "  I  am  afraid  you  will  be 
ruined,  both  for  time  and  eternity  by  that 
fear  of  ridicule." 

With  tears  Charles  resolved  to  master 
that   cowardly  feeling,   and    he  had  the 


CHARLIE*S  REPENTANCE.  51 

eatisfaction  that  evening  of  receiving  the 
assurances  of  forgiveness  from  both  his 
parents  for  the  deception  he  had  prac- 
ticed. A  great  load  was  taken  off  lii? 
heart.  But  he  felt  chastened  and  sub- 
dued. Ills  indiscretions  had  taught  hitu 
a  very  good  and  sound  lesson,  through 
the  after  care  and  kindness  of  his  parents  ; 
but  I  would  not  advise  any  of  my  young 
friends  to  learn  in  the  same  way,  for  it  is 
very  painful.  Besides,  we  are  taught  in 
the  good  Book  that  we  are  not  to  do  evil 
that  good  may  come. 


d2 


I-HE  BRANDY  DROPS. 


CHAPTER  V 

TO    SCHOOL   AGAIN. 


Charlie  was  no  longer  like  the  little 
boy  that  looked  upon  and  admired  the 
deadly   serpent.      He    did   not    think   it 


courageous  to  stand  by  and  watch  it.  lie 
eaw  that  true  safety  was  found  in  fleeing 
from  temptation.  So  when  he  went  to 
school  again  on  Monday  morning,  he  had 
no  more  vain  and  boastful  threats  to  deal 


TO   SCHOOL   AGAIN.  53 

out.  lie  made  up  his  niiiul  tliat  if  asked 
whetlier  lie  had  yet  signed  the  pledge,  he 
should  tell  them  truly  that  he  had.  He 
*elt  as  if  he  did  not  care  if  the  -whctlo 
world  knew  it.  He  expected  they  would 
aU  laugh  at  him,  and  if  they  had  done  so 
he  would  have  been  ready  for  them.  But 
temptations  do  not  often  come  in  just  the 
manner  in  which  we  look  for  them.  So 
Charlie  found  it. 

The  boj's  said  nothing  to  him  about  the 
affair,  though  some  of  them  eyed  him 
quite  curiously.  Charlie  did  not  suspect 
the  true  reason  of  their  silence  ;  but  the 
fact  was,  they  were  afraid  that  Mr.  Mar- 
tin would  go  to  the  teachers  and  school- 
officers  and  have  them  punished,  perhaps 
dismissed  from  the  school.  So  Charlie's 
courage  had  time  to  cool.  After  a  few 
days,  when  they  found  that  notiiing  was 
said  about  it,  they  came  down  on  Chai'lio 
quite  unexpectedly. 

"Signed  the  pledge  yet?"  inquired 
Clifi'ord.  But  Charlie  was  not  entirely  off 
iiis  guard,  and  he  answered :  "  Yes,  J 
uave." 


64  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  Should  think  it  was  about  time,"  was 
the  taunting  rejoinder. 

"  Mean  to  keep  it  now,  I  suppose?" 

"  Indeed  I  do,"  replied  Charlie. 

"  How  does  it  feel  to  get  drunk  ?"  wa8 
the  next  insulting  inquiry. 

No  reply. 

"  Won't  you  take  some  more  of  the 
same  sort?"  inquired  Jeff,  as  he  offered  a 
handful  of  the  obnoxious  drops. 

"  No,    I    thank    you,"    was    Charlie's 
polite  reply,  as  he  started  for  the  school 
room. 

"  Dear  me,  how  stiff,"  exclaimed  Clif- 
ford with  a  rough  w^ord.  "  See,  boys,  he 
is  just  like  the  monkey  that  got  tipsy." 

"How  was  that?"  asked  two  or  three  iu 
a  breath. 

"  Why,  you  see,  the  monkey  must 
always  do  as  he  sees  his  master  do;  and 
one  day  he  saw  him,  with  some  friends, 
drinking  brandy  ;  so  he  must  drink  some 
too,  and  he  took  off  iialf  a  glass,  a  pretty 
good  dose  to  begin  on.  Poor  coot !  Didn't 
he  cut  such  monkey-shines  there  for  an 
hour  as  never  a  monkey  cut  before!     It 


TO    SCHOOL    AGAIN.  55 

made  great  sport  for  the  fellows,  and  tlio 
next  morning  tliej  wanted  to  see  it  tried 
over  a<^ain.  But  Jack  put  np  his  hands 
to  his  head  to  show  that  it  ached.  O  ! 
say,  Charlie,  did  you  have  the  headache '^" 

Charlie  said  nothing,  but  he  did  remem- 
ber well  how  severely  his  head  ached,  and 
now  he  knew  that  the  pain  was  caused  by 
the  brandy. 

"  Go  on  !  go  on  !"  exclaimed  two  or 
three  of  the  boys  impatiently,  and  Clifford 
proceeded  : 

"  His  master  ordered  him  to  drink,  and 
then  he  jumped  for  the  window,  and  was 
up  on  the  roof  in  a  minute.  lie  did  not 
care  for  the  whip,  and  when  they  pointed 
a  gun  at  him  ho  jumped  into  the  chimney." 

"Turned  chinmey-sweep,"  echoed  some 
of  the  boys. 

"  Are  you  going  to  jump  Into  the  chim- 
ney ?"  iiHjuired  Clifford. 

Charlie  had  been  standing  just  ready  to 
go  into  the  house,  but  he  knew  if  he  did 
BO  it  would  only  raise  a  laugh  at  his  ex- 
pense. Just  as  Clifford  asked  the  ques- 
tion,   ho   happened   to  think  that  it  was 


66  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

only  through  fear  of  being  langlied  at  that 
he  stood  there.  He  remembered  that  he 
was  on  the  side  of  right,  and  that  his 
lieavenlj  Father  was  looking  at  him  to 
see  if  he  would  do  right.  So,  looking  up 
boldly  at  Cliff,  he  replied  : 

"Better  jump  into  the  chimney  than 
make  a  fool  of  one's  self." 

This  was  an  unexpected  reply,  and 
under  cover  of  it  Charlie  walked  quietly 
into  the  house. 

"  That  monkey  was  not  so  big  a  fool 
after  all,"  said  Jeff.  "  I'll  be  hanged  if 
I'd  be  made  tipsy  to  cut  capers  for  other 
folks." 

"  All  your  nonsense  don't  amount  to 
much,  CliftV'  said  George  Barker,  one  of 
the  bigger  boys.  "  Charlie  has  the  best  of 
it,  and  if  he  sticks  to  his  pledge,  and  you 
Btick  to  your  brandy- drops,  you  will  see  a 
difference  by  and  by." 

With  this  sage  remark  came  the  calT  of 
the  school-bell,  and  they  all  went  into  the 
house. 


JEFFERSON    TOWNLEY.  5? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

JEFFERSON  TOWNLEY. 

Jefferson  Townley  was  a  witty,  merry- 
making, cheerful  lad  of  aljout  twelve  suin- 
iners.  He  was  a  well-meaning  boy,  but 
he  was  so  fond  of  sport  that  he  sometimes 
fell  into  mischief,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  brandy  drops.  Besides,  he 
was  an  orphan.  If  lie  had  been  under  tlio 
care  of  a  father  like  Mr.  Martin,  wlio 
would  have  watched  over  him  and  culti 
vated  his  mind  and  heart,  he  might  never 
have  been  led  to  do  so  bad  an  act  as 
tentif^ting  little  Charlie.  Those  children 
who  have  the  care  of  kind  parents  ought 
to  look  with  charity  on  those  wIk^sc  pa- 
rents death  has  taken  away,  for  they  are 
not  likely  to  have  such  good  advice  or 
Buch  kind  care. 

But  Jeff,  as  he  was  called  by  the  bo3'8, 
had  his  thoughtful  moments.    Away  back 


38  THE   BRAXDT  DROPS. 

in  the  past  he  remembered  liis  mother 
laying  lier  gentle  hand  upon  his  head, 
while  he  heard,  in  the  low  tones  of  her 
sweet  voice  :  "  My  son,  if  sinners  entice 
thee,  consent  thou  not."  There,  too,  was 
the  good  pastor,  who  had  watched  over 
him  after  the  death  of  his  mother,  (for  of 
his  father  he  had  no  recollection,)  and 
had  talked  with  him  of  his  future  pros- 
pects, and  how  he  hoped  one  day  to  see 
him  a  worthy,  noble  man.  But  the  coun- 
try pastor  was  not  able  to  take  the  poor 
lone  boy  entirely  into  his  own  little  fold, 
which  was  already  pretty  well  filled  with 
hungry  lambs.  Still,  there  he  remained, 
until  a  merchant  from  the  city,  who  was 
visiting  in  the  vicinity,  and  was  pleased 
with  the  boy's  appearance,  proposed  to 
take  him  into  his  family.  Here  he  was 
to  be  cared  for  and  educated  till  he  was 
fifteen,  and  then  he  M-as  to  enter  the  gen 
tleman's  store  as  a  clerk. 

This  merchant's  name  was  Arthur.  He 
was  a  frank,  good-hearted  man,  but  very 
much  engao;ed  in  business.  He  did  not 
seem  to  think  that  the  young  lad  wanted 


JEFFERSON   TOWNLKY.  69 

paternal  advice  with  regard  to  his  asso- 
ciates, and  if  he  knew  that  lie  associated 
with  Clifford  ISTash,  I  suppose  he  would 
have  thonglit  it  all  well  enough.  Mr. 
Nash  w^as  a  rich  merchant,  and  !n  no 
bad  repute,  and  Mr.  Arthur  inquired  no 
further. 

But  it  is  not  riches  alone  that  makes 
either  the  boy  or  the  man.  Clifford  Nash 
was  a  spoiled  child,  puff"ed  up  with  ideas 
of  his  own  importance,  and  bent  on  the 
indulgence  of  his  own  appetites  and 
wishes  at  any  cost.  His  papa  had  but 
one  thought,  and  that  was  to  make  mon- 
ey; while  his  gay  and  indulgent  mamma 
was  bent  on  spending  money  and  killing 
time.  Cliff'ord  was  her  pet,  and  nothing 
that  he  wanted  must  be  denied  him,  how- 
ever injurious. 

Mrs.  Nash  had  taught  her  son  from  in- 
fancy to  love  the  wine  cup  that  made  its 
daily  appearance  on  the  dinner  table.  At 
first  it  was  sweetened  and  fed  to  him  with  a 
bpoon.  Of  course  he  learned  to  love  it,  and 
as  he  grew  older  he  would  have  more,  and 
was  admitted  to  a  share  of  his  father's  morn- 


8C 


THE  BKAlifDT   DROPS 


ing  glass.  His  father  thought  it  rather 
cunning  to  see  a  little  boy  drink  so  bold- 
ly, and  the  mother's  weak  remonstrances 
were  of  little  avail,  and  her  frequent  rep- 
etitions of,  "It  will  certainly  make  you 
tipsy,"  only  familiarized  the  boy  with  the 
word  till  he  no  longer  dreaded  "  being 
tipsy."  The  next  step  was  to  get  tipsy 
just  a  little,  to  spend  his  pocket  money 
for  drink  when  he  could  not  get  it  at 
home,  and  of  course  he  smoked  cigars  too, 
and  altogether  he  considered  himself  quit© 


JEFFERriON  TOWNLEY.  61 

t  fast  young  man,  tlioui;^li  not  yet  out  of 
short  jackets.  But  what  do  you  tliink  of 
him,  boys?  I  don't  believe  you  would 
care  to  imitate  his  example,  especially  if 
you  could  see  him  about  ten  years  hence, 
supposing  he  lives  so  long.  Fast  boys 
and  fast  young  men  go  fast  to  an  early 
and  dishonorable  grave,  and  Bible-read- 
ing boys  cannot  help  seeing  that  they  go 
quite  too  fast  into  the  presence  of  an 
angry  God. 

But  what  kind  of  a  lad  was  this  Clifford 
Nash  to  associate  with  the  weM-nieaning 
Jefferson  Townley  ?  Jeff  knew  very  well 
what  kind  of  a  lad  he  was,  but  he  had 
not  stopped  to  think  of  the  consequences 
of  being  so  intimate  with  him.  George 
Barker's  words  had  arrested  his  attention  : 
"  You  will  see  a  difference  by  and  by.'' 
What  would  that  difference  be?  "Now, 
I  know,"  said  he  tohimself,  "that  if  there  is 
going  to  be  much  difference,  it  is  Charlie 
Martin  that  will  be  the  man  if  he  sticks  to 
his  pledge.  He  is  getting  over  his  fear  of 
being  laughed  at,  and  I  like  him  better 
than    1    ever  did    before.     It  was  really 


62  THE   BRAXDY   DROPS. 

mean  of  me  to  offer  him  those  brandy 
drops,"  Here  the  train  of  Jeff's  thoughts 
was  broken  off  by  a  call  to  recitation, 
and  in  another  hour  school  was  dismissed. 

"Say,  Jeff,"  hallooed  Clifford,  as  they 
were  leaving  the  school ;  "  I  thought  you 
were  going  with  me  to-night." 

"  Going  where  ?"  shouted  Jeff  in  return, 
well  knowing  that  Cliff"  would  not  answer 
at  that  distance,  in  the  presence  of  the 
teacher  ;  for  it  was  to  a  very  low  place  of 
public  amusement  that  Clifford  had  been 
proposing  to  go. 

And  indeed  before  the  latter  had  made 
up  his  mind  what  answer  to  make,  Jeff 
was  out  of  sight ;  and  he  muttered  with  a 
rough  word  some  wonder  at  "what  was  in 
the  wind  now,  that  Jeff'  should  be  tagging 
after  that  silly  Charlie  Martin." 

But  so  it  was  ;  and  before  the  brothers 
were  half  way  home  Charlie  M'as  sur- 
prised by  a  hearty  slap  and  a  pull  on  the 
shoulder,  and  Jeff',  all  out  of  breath  with 
running,  stopped  at  his  side. 

Charlie  shrank  from  this  new  trial,  as 
he  feared  it  was,  for  though  he  was  thank- 


JEFFERSON  TOWN  LET?.  63 

All  for  liaving  passed  one  storm  so  safely, 
he  was  not  at  all  prepared  for  anotlier  tliat 
nio^ht.  Imagine  his  surprise,  then,  as  Jeff 
sung  out : 

"  Well,  Charlie,  you  did  first-rate  to-day, 
did  you  not  ?  shut  up  Ciifl''  completely  !" 

Cliarlie's  blue  e3'e8  opened  wide  in 
amazement,  for  he  had  thought  Jefi'  quite 
as  bad  as  Cliff. 

"  Don't  wonder  you  are  surprised,  Char- 
lie. It  was  too  bad  in  me  to  offer  you 
those  brandy  drops.  I've  been  thinking 
about  it  ever  since,  and  I  know  that  you 
are  in  tiie  right,  and  Cliff  is  in  the  wrong; 
and  I'm  afraid  he'll  turn  out  bad  some 
day.  But  there  is  no  danger  of  you,  if 
you  stick  to  the  pledge." 

"Why,"  said  Charlie,  ''what  do  you 
mean  by  Clift''s  turning  out  bad  ?" 

"  Because  he  likes  wine  and  brandy  so 
well  now  that  he  cannot  let  them  alone  , 
how  much  worse  will  it  be  when  he  jjets  to 
be  older,  and  can  get  as  much  of  them  aa 
he  likes  ?" 

"Do  you  think  Cliff  will  be  a  drunk 
ard  ?"  asked  Charlie  seriously. 


•54  THE   BRANDY   DROPS, 

"  Of  course  I  do.     How  can  he  help  it 

if  he  goes  on  so  ?" 

"  You  won't,  will  you,  Jeff?"  said  Chai- 
lie,  with  a  sudden  confidence  inspired  by 
the  young  lad's  conversation. 

"No,"  replied  Jeff;  "I  am  going  to 
sign  the  pledge." 

"  You  !"  exclaimed  Charlie. 

"  Yes,  I ;  do  you  suppose  I  want  to  be 
a  drunkard." 

What  a  moment  was  that  for  Charlie  1 
Only  to  think  that  Jeff  was  coming  ovei 
to  his  side  ;  to  have  it  acknowledged  by 
one  he  had  considered  an  enemy,  that  he 
was  right,  and  that  Clifford,  from  whose 
presence  he  had  been  almost  willing  to 
creep,  through  the  power  of  ridicule,  that 
Clifford  was  wrong.  And  here  too  was 
one  of  the  first  scholars  in  school  fol- 
lowing his  example  and  taking  the  pledge. 
So  absorbed  was  he  in  these  thoughts  thai 
he  did  not  see  that  he  had  reached  home, 
till  Eddie  pulled  his  hand,  saying : 

"  Come,  Charlie,  why  don't  you  come  in  ?" 

"Wait  a  minute,"  said  Jeff;  "where 
did  you  get  your  pledge?" 


JEFFERSON  TOWNLET.  65 

"  I  don't  know  where  it  came  from  ;  pa 
got  it  for  me." 

"  Will  you  ask  him,  and  let  me  know 
to-morrow  ?  I  want  to  get  one  that  talks 
it  out  about  right,  and  one  that  I  can 
keep,  too." 

"Yes,  I'll  ask  him,"  replied  Charlie; 
and  so  with  a  merry  "good-by,"  a  hop 
and  a  skip,  Jeff  ran  off. 
5 


66  THE  BRANDY  DROIB. 


CHAPTER  yn. 

DEALING  WITH    TEMPERANCE    MEN 

After  the  whole  story  of  JefF  had  heen 
talked  over  that  evening  at  the  table,  and 
the  good  effects  of  i-ight  example  pointed 
out,  Eddie  spoke  up  : 

"Yes,  and  there's  Jamie  Williams  !  He 
said,  last  Friday,  when  Charley  was  at 
home,  sick,  that  he  was  half  a  mind  to 
sign  the  pledge  if  Charlie  did.  He  said 
he  liked  lager  beer  first-rate,  but  if  his 
father  knew  that  he  drank  it  he  would 
lick  him.  He  did  not  know  but  he 
would  half  kill  him." 

"  Why,  my  son,  do  you  use  such  lan- 
guage," exclaimed  Mrs.  Martin. 

"  That  is  just  what  Jamie  said,  mother.' 

"  Very  possibly  ;  still  we  do  not  want  it 
repeated  here.  We  shall  talk  no  better 
than  others  if  we  repeat  all  that  they  say." 

"Where  does  Jamie  get  his  lager  beer. 
Eddie?"  inquired  Mr.  Martin. 


DEALING    WITH  TEMPERANCE  MEN.    67 

"  He  gets  it  at  the  corner,  wliere  liig 
mother  sends  him  for  groceries.  He 
Bometimes  goes  two  or  three  times  a  day, 
and  gets  a  little  almost  every  time.  And 
twice  the  grocer  gave  him  half  a  glass  to 
himself" 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Martin,  to  his 
wife,  "  you  see  the  danger  of  patronizing 
groceries  where  spirituous  licpiors  are 
kept." 

"I  did  not  suppose  there  was  so  much 
danger,"  replied  the  lady.  "I  would  not 
M'ish  to  expose  even  a  servant  to  such 
temptations,  nor  would  I  have  encouraged 
Buch  dealers,  nor  heljied  them  by  my  cus- 
tom, if  I  had  known  them  to  be  so  unprin- 
cipled. I  have  excused  myself  for  doing 
so  occasionally  when  in  a  hurry,  because 
it  was  so  much  further  to  the  temperance 
grocery." 

"Well,  papa,"  said  Amelia,  "I  have 
lieard  it  said  that  prices  are  usually  much 
higher  at  temperance  groceries.  I  won- 
der if  that  is  so." 

"Perhaps  it  may  be  so,  sometimes,  but 
we  must  remember  that  tlie  liquor-dealer 


68  THE  BRAKDY  DROPS. 

depends  on  his  liquors  for  the  most  ot  hig 
profits.  If  we  get  his  groceries  cheaper 
on  this  account  we  become  a  partaker  in 
his  evil  deeds,  and  a  sharer  in  the  profits 
of  his  abominable  traflic.  But  setting 
aside  this  view  of  the  case,  I  presume 
that  your  mother  would  not  risk  the  safe- 
ty of  any  under  her  care  by  sending  them 
to  any  place  of  danger." 

"  Certainly  not,"  replied  Mrs.  Martin  ; 
'  our  principles  are  against  it.  You 
remember  that  when  we  lived  in  the 
country  we  made  it  a  point  to  deal  with 
none  but  temperance  merchants,  and  I 
think  we  had  better  return  to  our  old 
landmarks,  if  it  is  a  little  more  trouble." 

"  Father,"  said  Charlie,  "  I  have  heard 
that  lager  beer  will  not  make  any  one 
drunk." 

"  I  have  heard  such  statements  toe,  my 
Bon,  and  I  have  taken  pains  to  inquire  into 
their  truth.  In  return,  I  was  assured  by 
an  intelligent  druggist  that  it  certainly 
does  contain  large  quantities  of  alcohol, 
and  has  a  very  stupefying  effect  The 
Germans,  who  drink  it  mostly,  are  not  so 


DEALING    WITH  TEMP  FRANCE   MEN.    69 

easily  affected  by  it  as  some  others,  but  if 
tliey  drink  enough  of  it  they  will  f^et 
drunk  on  it,  and  they  frequently  do  so. 
It  is  said  to  be  less  poisonous  than  many 
other  alcoholic  drinks." 

"  Why,  papa,  how  are  they  poisonous," 
inquired  Amelia. 

"  If  they  were  pure,  my  child,  they 
would  be  quite  expensive,  and  they  would 
yield  but  small  profits,  and  secure  but 
small  sales.  So  the  dealers  add  water 
to  increase  the  amount;  but  as  this  wonln 
make  them  too  weak,  they  must  put 
in  somethiu<^  to  restore  the  taste  and  ap- 
pearance. Among  these  substances  used, 
are  arsenic,  burned  sugar,  logwood,  alco- 
hol, sugar  of  lead,  nux  vomica,  and  many 
many  other  poisonous  substances.  A 
large  part  of  the  so  called  wine  sold  in  oui 
city  is  supposed  not  to  contain  a  single 
drop  of  the  juice  of  the  grape.  Indeed, 
there  is  not  so  much  of  some  kinds  of  wine 
made  in  the  world  as  they  pretend  to  sell 
in  the  city  of  New- York.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  get  it  pure,  even  for  medicinal 
purposes.     All  these  poisons  have  a  iiorri 


70  THE    BRANDY    DROPS. 

ble  effect  on  those  who  drink  them  freely 
They  die  off  very  quickly,  sometimes  in  a 
few  months,  and  suffer  the  most  horrible 
agonies.''' 

The  next  day  Mr.  Martin  sent  an  invi- 
tation by  Charlie  for  Jeff'erson  to  call  in 
the  evening.  He  did  so  ;  and  Mr.  Martin 
told  him  that,  having  heard  of  his  inten- 
tion to  sign  the  pledge,  he  wished  the 
privilege  of  pi-esenting  him  with  a  copy. 
Jefferson  thanked  the  gentleman  with  his 
best  bow.  Mr.  Martin  soon  made  him  at 
ease  by  ids  kind  encouraging  mannei",  and 
drew  him  out  into  a  conversation,  in 
which  the  young  lad  showed  his  good 
sense. 

"  Will  you  be  so  kind,  sir,"  said  Jeff, 
when  there  was  a  convenient  pause,  "  as 
to  explain  to  me  one  thing  about  this 
matter  ?" 

"  With  pleasure,"  replied  Mr.  Martin, 
"  if  I  am  able  to  do  so." 

"  Well,  I  was  thinking  over  to-day  the 
meaning  of  the  word  temperance,  and  I 
went  to  the  dictionary.  There  I  found  that 
it  meant  moderation,  and  was  used  with 


i)EALING   WITH   TEMPERANCE   MEN.  1\ 

/egard  to  eating  as  well  as  drinking.  Now 
if  it  only  means  moderation  in  eating  and 
drinking,  I  do  not  see  bow  it  prevents  onr 
eating  and  drinking  moderately  of  what- 
ever we  choose.  So  will  yon  please,  sir, 
to  tell  me  how  temperance  in  drinking 
means  letting  liqnors  entirely  alone." 

"  Your  criticism  is  quite  correct,  my 
young  friend,"  returned  Mr.  Martin. 
"  The  temperance  reform  was  commenced 
by  trying  to  induce  people  to  use  moder- 
ation in  drinking,  and  so  prevent  the  evils 
of  intemperance.  But  the  most  of  those 
who  once  commenced  drinking,  could 
never  find  the  right  place  for  stopping. 
So  to  effect  the  object  of  the  temperance 
reform,  they  found  that  a  promise  must 
be  made  not  to  drink  at  all.  The  efibrt 
still  went  by  the  same  name,  and  it  is  very 
nearly  right,  for  true  temperance  certain 
ly  requires  us  not  to  drink  at  all  of  any- 
thing that  will  harm  us.  In  Great  Britain 
the  name  of  total  abstinence,  or  teetotal- 
ism  is  more  generally  used,  and  those  who 
take  the  pledge  are  called  teetotalers  oi 
abstainers." 


'/2  THE  BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  1  am  very  mucli  obliged  for  the  ex* 
planation,"  returned  Jeflf. 

"  Why,  my  boy,  do  yon  not  wish  to  take 
the  total  abstinence  pledge?" 

"  O  yes,  sir,  by  all  means ;  but  I  wanted 
to  understand  how  the  name  and  the  thing 
agreed,  so  that  I  might  know  what  I  was 
about." 

"  That  is  right,  my  lad.  You  will  keep 
clear  of  many  difficulties  in  the  world  by 
that  course.  I  suppose  you  will  study 
that  pledge,  too,  before  you  sign  it." 

"I  will  try  to  do  so.  Good  evening, 
sir." 


THE  BIBLE   ON   TEMl'EKANCE.  75 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BIBLE  ON  TEMPERANCE. 

"  Mother,  mother !"  cried  Charlie,  a 
few  minutes  afterward,  as  he  ran  to  the 
nursery.  No  mother  was  there.  So  he 
ran  toward  her  bed-room. 

"Mother!"  he  cried  ai^ain. 

"  Mother  is  not  here."  said  a  gentle 
voice.  It  was  that  of  his  sister  Amelia. 
"  Mother  is  in  the  parlor  with  company. 
My  manly  little  brother  ought  to  wait  till 
lie  can  get  to  the  room,  and  not  go  all 
about  the  house  calling  for  some  one  that 
is  busy." 

"  That  is  so !"  exclaimed  Charlie,  throw- 
ing his  arms  around  her  neck,  and  imprint- 
ing a  kiss  on  her  cheek.  "  My  good  sister 
is  always  telling  me  something  that  would 
make  me  better,  if  I  would  only  attend 
to  it.  But  what  are  you  and  Eddie,  talk 
ing  about  here  so  busy?" 


fi  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

"  O,"  replied  Eddie  eagerly,  "  sister  is 
telling  me  all  the  verses  in  the  Bible  about 
temperance,  and  you  can't  think  how 
many  there  are.  It  seems  as  if  there  was 
something  in  the  Bible  about  all  the  good 
things  in  the  world." 

"  Yes  ;  but,  Master  Eddie,  you  need  not 
tliink  you  are  going  to  have  all  these  good 


tiings  to  yourself,"  said  Charlie,  throwing 
niniself  down  on  the  carpet. 


THE  BIBLE   ON  TEMPELANCE.  "75 

"  We  sliall  be  very  glad  to  Lave  yon 
ehare  them  with  us,"  replied  Amelia.  "I 
was  just  reading  in  Proverbs,  where  Solo 
mon  is  telling  his  son  not  to  drink  wine." 

"Well,  sister,  did  not  Christ  drink  wine 
when  he  was  on  the  earth,  and  did  he  not 
once  turn  water  into  wine  ?" 

"  True ;  but  1  heard  our  Sunday-school 
teacher  say  that  was  new  wine,  just  thfe 
fresh  juice  of  the  grape,  which  was  com- 
mon drink  in  that  country.  It  would  not 
make  anybody  drunk.  But  when  it  stood 
a  long  time  and  fermented  it  had  alcohol  in 
it,  and  then  it  made  people  drunk,  and 
then  it  would  sparkle  and  look  bright  in 
the  cup  just  as  it  says  here." 

"  Well,  read  on,  sister ;  I  won't  interrupt 
you  again." 

So  Amelia  read  from  the  twenty-third 
chaj)ter  of  Proverbs : 

"  '  Who  hath  woe  ?  who  hath  sorrow  ? 
who  hath  contentions?  who  hath  babbling? 
who  hath  wounds  without  cause?  who 
hath  redness  of  eyes  ?  They  that  tarry 
long  at  the  wine;  they  that  go  to  seek 
mixed  wine. 


'6  THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 

" '  Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is 
red,  when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup, 
when  it  moveth  itself  aright.  At  the  last 
it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like 
an  adder.  Thine  eyes  shall  behold  strange 
women ;  and  thine  heart  shall  utter  per- 
verse things.'" 

"  There,"  said  Amelia,  "  I  guess  that 
is  all  about  that.  O  no,  it  is  not.  This  is 
telling  how  he  acts :  '  Yea,  thou  shalt  be 
as  he  that  lieth  down  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  or  as  he  that  lieth  on  the  top  of  a 
mast.  They  have  stricken  me,  and  I  was 
not  sick ;  they  have  beaten  me,  and  I  felt 
it  not :  when  shall  I  awake  ?  I  will  seek 
it  yet  again.'" 

"  Why,  how  true  that  is  !"  said  Charlie, 
"even  to  the  quarreling,  for  drunkards 
are  famous  for  that,  you  know." 

"  Then,  too,  I  suppose  that  about  the 
ship  means  that  they  reel  about  like  a  ship 
on  the  water." 

"  Well,  sister,  does  the  Bible  say  an_y  • 
thing  about  temperance ;  that  is,  about 
the  drunkard  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  was  the  reply.      "  Don'f 


THE   BIBLE   OS  TEMPERANCE.  11 

j'ou  remetiiber  when  Paul  was  befoi'e 
Felix,  and  reasoned  of  rigliteoiisness,  tc?)i- 
pei'a7ice,  and  a  judgment  to  come,  Felix 
trembled  ?" 

"O  yes!"  exclaimed  Charlie;  "then 
Paul  was  a  temperance  lecturer,  was  ho 
not?  Well,  that  is  worth  all  the  rest.  I 
wonder  if  that  is  all  the  temperance  lec- 
ture that  he  ever  gave." 

"  No ;  I  think  there  were  several  others. 
There  is  one  place,  I  know,  where  he  says, 
'  Be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is  ex- 
cess.'" 

Charlie  now  caught  a  glimpse  of  hrs 
mother  coming  in,  and  he  jumped  up  and 
ran  to  meet  her. 

"  O  mother !"  he  said,  "  I  am  so  glaa 
that  Jeif  Tovvnley  is  going  to  sign  the 
pledge !" 

"So  ami,"  replied  his  mother;  "  fui 
your  sake  as  well  as  his  own.  It  shows 
you  the  influence  of  one  boy  that  dares  to 
do  right.  And  I  am  happy  to  see  you  in 
Buch  good  spirits ;  quite  like  yourself 
again,"  and  the  mother's  fond  kiss  brought 
Ihe  tears  to  his  eyes  as  he  thought  how 


78  THE   BRANDY  DEOPS. 

he  had  injured  her  feelings,  and  how  fully 
she  had  forgiven  him. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  of,  Charlie  ?" 
inquired  Mr.  Martin  the  next  morning 
after  breakfast. 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  think  what  could 
have  started  Jeff  to  sign  the  pledge.  I 
would  like  to  know  of  wnat  use  he  thinks 
it  will  be  to  him." 

"  I  thought  you  were  glad  that  he  had 
signed  the  pledge." 

"  So  I  am  ;  but  I'd  like  to  know  what 
he  thinks  about  it,  and  if  he  supposes  it 
will  do  him  much  good." 

"  I  can  tell  of  some  good  that  it  would 
have  done  somebody  if  he  had  signed  it 
some  days  ago." 

Charlie  looked  up  inquiringly,  and  his 
father  continued : 

"  He  would  not  have  given  you  those 
brandy  drops,  my  son." 

"  Why  not,  father  ?"  inquired  Charlie, 
looking  a  little  confused  at  this  allusion. 

"Don't  you  remember  what  your  pledge 
says?  I  think  you  had  better  read  it 
again." 


THE   BIBLE   ON   TEMPERANCE.  79 

Charlie  ran  to  get  it,  and  soon  ex- 
claimed : 

"  O  yes,  I  see  !  he  would  have  promised 
not  to  offer  it  to  his  friends,  and  that  is  a 
good  idea,  for  if  one  promises  not  to  touch 
it  himself,  he  ought  not  to  offer  it  to  hia 
friends.  But  then,  father,  I  was  thinking 
how  small  a  chance  there  was  that  so 
good  a  fellow  as  Jeff,  one  that  knows  so 
much,  and  is  so  well-behaved,  should  ever 
become  a  drunkard." 

"  Yerj  true  ;  he  might  never  become  a 
drunkard  ;  yet  there  is  no  surety  of  that. 
Some  of  the  most  intellectual  men  have 
given  themselves  up  to  drink,  and  it  has 
ruined  them  ;  and  sometimes  they  have 
sunk  as  low  as  the  vilest  street  drunkards. 
Besides,  wine  often  works  mischief  when 
it  does  not  make  drunkards.  Do  you 
know  who  was  the  last  sovereign  of  France 
l)efore  Louis  Napoleon  ?" 

"  It  was  Louis  Philippe,  was  it  not  ?" 

"Yes;  and  his  eldest  son  was  called  the 
Duke  of  Orleans.  This  young  num  was 
looked  upon  as  the  heir  of  his  father's 
throhe,  and  his  excellent  qualities  made 


dO  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

him  very  much  beloved  and  deservedly 
popular.  He  was  handsome,  intellectual, 
and  noble,  l^o  one  thought  that  he  would 
fall  a  victim  to  wine  ;  indeed  he  never  be- 
came intoxicated.  But  on  one  joyous 
occasion  he  drank  one  glass  too  much ; 
just  one  glass  too  much.  On  leaving  the 
company  he  entered  his  carriage,  and  had 
not  gone  far  when  his  horses  took  fright  and 
ran.  If  he  had  been  quite  sober,  he  would 
have  kept  his  seat,  which  is  the  safest 
course  at  such  times;  but  he  jumped  out. 
If  he  had  not  drunk  too  much  wine  he 
would  have  alighted  on  his  feet ;  as  it  was 
his  head  struck  the  pavement  and  he  was 
killed.  Ah,  my  son,  you  may  be  sure  that 
the  only  safe  way  is  not  to  touch  it.  If  a 
promise  will  help  us  to  avoid  it,  give  the 
promise  freely.  And  besides,  I  think  it  a 
noble  thing  for  every  one,  man,  woman, 
and  child,  to  vow  eternal  hatred  to  the 
stuff  that  does  so  much  mischief  in  the 
world." 


JAMIE  WILLIAMS.  Rl 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JAMIE   WILLIAMS. 

Let  us  visit  the  home  of  Jamie  WiL 
Jiams.  It  is  a  pleasant  place,  clean  and 
tidy;  the  mother  a  notable  housekeeper, 
the  father  a  hard-working  mechanic.  It 
is  up  two  flights  of  stairs,  but  no  matter 
for  that;  people  in  the  city  learn  to  climb 
stairs.  To  be  sure  the  coal  must  be  carried 
up,  but  that  is  soon  done ;  and  the  water 
makes  them  no  trouble,  for  the  Croton 
carries  itself  up  and  down. 

There  are  three  children,  of  whom  Janne 
is  the  oldest;  after  him  Sister  Nell,  and 
then  comes  little  Richard,  who  goes  by  the 
name  of  Dickie.  Tiie  latter,  poor,  tired  lit- 
tle fellow,  has  been  running  the  street  all 
day  in  this  truly  cold  autunm  weather, 
and  is  now  fast  asleep  on  two  chairs.  Tho 
motlier  is  bustling  about  getting  supper, 
and  Jamie  and  Nell,  one  on  each  side  of 
6 


82  THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 

the  stove  in  the  chimney  corner,  are  get- 
tinjj  their  lessons  for  the  morrow. 

Soon  in  comes  the  husband  and  father 
bringing  company  for  a  variety.  It  proves 
to  be  a  shopmate,  who  is  to  go  with  hiin 
up  to  the  Crystal  Palace  in  the  evening 
to  examine  some  machinery. 

The  company  is  left  in  the  neat  little 
keeping  room,  which  is  dignified  by  the 
name  of  front  parlor,  while  Mr.  Williams 
just  steps  for  a  moment  into  the  back 
room,  that  answers  at  once  for  kitchen 
and  dining-room ;  a  few  words  with  his 
good-hearted  wife  explain  the  nature  ol 
his  visit.  "Put  on  another  plate,  Mary  , 
perhaps  Mr.  Price  won't  disdain  a  hum- 
ble cup  of  tea  with  us." 

Then  going  to  the  closet,  he  reached 
down  a  decanter  partly  filled  with  brandy, 
and  putting  it  with  two  glasses  on  a  small 
waiter,  lie  returned  with  them  to  the  par- 
lor. Jamie  had  never  seen  such  a  move  - 
mont  before,  and  remembering  all  that  he 
had  heard  about  temperance  at  school  of 
late,  his  curiosity  was  the  more  excited  to 
know  what  his  father  was  going  to  do. 


JAMIE  WILLIAMS.  83 

So  lie  listened  carefully  to  all  that  was 
said,  for  as  the  door  was  left  open  he 
could  hear  every  word  of  it  from  where 
he  sat. 

"Will  you  have  a  drop  of  the  best 
brandy,  Mr.  Price,  to  cheer  you  up  this 
evening?"  asked  Mr.  Williams. 

"No,  thank  you,  I  believe  not,"  was 
the  reply. 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid  of  it ;  'tis  the 
genuine  article." 

"  Perhaps  so,  but  I  never  take  any.  In 
fact,  sir,  it  goes  against  my  temperance 
principles." 

"Not  such  a  little  bit  as  that,  I  hope," 
replied  Mr.  Williams,  holding  up  about  a 
gill  in  a  tumbler. 

"I  think  it  best  not  to  touch  it,  and 
then  I  know  that  I  am  safe." 

"  Well,  now,  I  cannot  carry  the  thing 
so  far  as  that,"  was  the  ro[)ly  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liams. "I  know  that  it  docis  mo  good.  I 
never  have  been  in  the  habit  of  drinking, 
but  I  take  a  little,  just  for  medicine,  at 
night  when  I  come  in  all  tired  out.  1 
think   people   that  work  as  hard  as  you 


84  THE   BRANDY   DROFS 

and  I  do  need  some  stimulus  BesiJes, 
you  see  that  I  am  rather  spare  and  thin 
blooded." 

"  Well,  if  you  take  it  for  medicine, 
why  don't  you  take  it  in  the  same  way, 
put  it  up  in  your  medicine  chest,  and 
dose  it  out  by  the  spoonful  when  it  is 
needed?  I  suppose  if  you  were  taking 
regular  doses  of  pills,  or  castor-oil,  or 
even  anything  as  good  as  extract  of  sar- 
saparilla,  or  hive  syrup,  you  would  hardly 
think  of  offering  it  to  a  visitor.  I  beg 
your  pardon  for  the  freedom  of  the  re- 
mark, sir;  I  hope  you  will  not  take  it 
amiss;  I  only  just  wanted  to  show  you  the 
difference." 

"Now,"  said  James  to  himself,  "I  shall 
know  how  to  get  a  sup  of  that  nice  biaudy  ; 
I  can  pretend  to  be  sick." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  AVilliams,  continuing 
the  conversation,  "  but  you  know  that 
temperance  people  do  not  believe  in  tak- 
ing it  at  all." 

"  We  do  not  when  we  can  do  without 
it.  We  believe  that  it  has  its  place  in 
medicine  and  in  the  arts,  but  we  nevei 


JAMIE   WILLIAMS.  85 

take  it  so  long  as  we  can  find  anything 
else  tliat  will  answer  in  its  place.  If  we  do 
take  it,  we  do  not  make  a  constant  use  of 
it,  any  more  than  we  would  of  castor-oil, 
or  of  laudanum,  or  opium,  on  which  the 
Turk  and  the  Chinaman  get  intoxicated. 
The  latter  is  just  as  bad,  but  not  quite  so 
dangerous  to  us,  because  we  do  not  abuse 
it  so  much  as  we  do  ©ur  intoxicating 
liquors." 

"Well,"  responded  Mr.  Williams,  "I 
cannot  say  that  I  like  these  temperance 
societies.  They  answer  very  well  for  the 
lower  classes,  who  cannot  control  their  ap- 
petites, but  for  an  intelligent  man  who  is 
in  no  danoer  of  drunkenness  to  make  a 
written  promise  that  he  will  not  touch  a 
drop,  just  for  nothing  at  all,  I  thiidv  ia 
ver}'  foolish.  Now  it  is  not  so  in  the  old 
countries.  The  res])ectable  part  of  tho 
community,  even  the  church-members  and 
the  ministers,  have  their  ale  and  their 
wines,  or  whatever  they  want,  and  leave 
the  temperance  societies  for  the  lower 
classes,  who  are  in  danger  of  killing  them 
Belves  off  with  gin." 


66  THE  BRANDY   DROPS. 

"Just  allow  me  to  ask  one  question, 
Mr.  Williams.  How  much  good  do  the 
temperance  societies  do  among  these 
:ower  classes?" 

"  As  much  as  they  do  anywhere,  I  sup- 
pose, though  I  must  say  that  the^^  are 
pretty  much  a  humbug  wherever  I  have 
Been  them.  All  these  folks  that  make 
60  much  ado  ab'out  temperance  will  take 
a  drop  themselves  when  they  get  behind 
the  door." 

"  AVell,  it  may  be  so  in  the  old  coun- 
tries ;  I  won't  dispute,  for  I  do  not  know ; 
but  it  is  not  so-  here.  The  most  of  our 
professed  temperance  men  are  sucli  really, 
and  never  taste  a  drop  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  and  do  not  have  it  in  their  houses 
excepting  in  camphor  or  essences,  or  for 
bathing.  Some  are  so  particular  that 
tliey  will  not  touch  the  stuff  even  when 
prescribed  by  tlie  physician." 

"  Pshaw  !"  said  Mr.  Williams  ;  "  how 
many  such  houses  do  yon  suppose  there 
are  in  tliese  United  States?" 

"  Hundreds  of  thousands,  sir,  scattered 
all  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 


JAMIE   WILLIAMS.  87 

land.  You  must  not  judge  tlie  whole 
country  by  New- York  city.  We  have  too 
many  foreign  customs  here.  But  let  me 
tell  you  that  your  temperance  societies 
in  Groat  Britain  will  not  be  worth  a  straw 
till  the  respectable  people  set  the  example 
of  joining  them.  The  very  reason  that  we 
l>ave  so  many  drunken  foreigners  here, 
Irish,  English,  German,  etc.,  is  because 
they  have  not  been  taught  total  abstinence 
at  home  by  respectable  people.  Why, 
drunken  foreigners  outnum])er  drunken 
Americans  here  in  our  city  ten  to  one." 

I  know  not  what  answer  Mr.  AVilliams 
would  have  made  to  this,  for  he  was 
English,  and  this  speech  did  not  please 
him;  but  just  then  his  wife  came  in 
to  greet  their  guest  and  invite  him  to 
8U})per,  and  there  was  no  more  said  about 
the  matter.  lie  did  not  want  to  talk  of 
Buch  things  before  James,  for  he  did  not 
want  him  to  learn  to  drink,  and  these  feel- 
ings showed  that  he  knew  himself  in  the 
wrong. 

James  went  with  his  father  that  evening 
up  to  tlie  Crystal  Palace,  and  in  the  ex- 


88  THE   BRANDY  DROPS. 

citemerit  of  the  pretty  sights  he  forgot  fo 
the  present  all  about  the  brandy. 

A  few  days  after  this  James,  who  had 
taken  a  violent  cold,  came  down  in  the 
morning,  looking  rather  poorl3^ 

*'  What  is  the  matter,  my  son  ?"  inquired 
the  father  when  he  came  in.  "  You  don't 
look  well." 

James  thought  of  the  brandy  in  a 
moment,  and  said  to  himself,  "Now  is 
the  time  for  it !"  It  is  true  he  did  feel  bad, 
but  I  am  afraid  he  made  out  the  case 
worse  than  it  was.  His  father  pitied 
him,  his  mother  petted  him,  and  various 
remedies  were  proposed.  It  was  finally  de- 
cided that  he  should  remain  at  home,  and 
have  a  hot  foot-bath,  and  drink  thorough- 
wort  tea,  a  very  diflerent  medicine  from 
the  brandy,  James  thought,  and  he  began  to 
wish  that  he  had  made  less  ado  about  his 
cold.  Finally,  he  ventured  to  ask  if  a 
little  brandy  would  not  do  quite  as  well ; 
but  he  received  a  very  decided  answer 
from  his  father,  who  told  him  that  brandy 
was  not  made  for  little  boys. 

Soon  his  father  went  to  his  work,  and 


JAMIE   WILLIAMS.  8d 

left  poor  Jamie  with  the  bitter  prospect 
of  throiif^hwort-tea  before  him.  Xell  had 
gone  to  school,  Dickie  was  in  the  street 
again,  Mrs.  Williams  was  clearing  away 
the  breakfixst,  and  Jamie  was  in  the  corner, 
thinking  of  what  was  in  reserve  for  him, 
BO  soon  a8  his  mother  should  have  time  to 
go  to  the  apothecary's  and  get  the  herbs. 

*'  Scalded  feet  and  thoroiighwort  tea !" 
said  he  to  himself  after  she  was  gone. 
"  Well,  now  that  I  am  here  all  alone,  what 
is  to  hinder  my  helping  myself  to  some 
brandy?  Kobodj  will  be  any  the  wiser 
for  it." 

lie  opened  the  closet  door  and  brought 
a  chair,  on  which  he  climbed ;  but  that 
did  not  make  him  high  enough  to  reach 
it.  Then  he  brought  Dickie's  stool,  which 
made  him  just  high  enough.  But  now, 
lunv  should  he  take  it?  If  he  should  use 
a  tumbler,  his  mother  would  notice  it.  lie 
would  drink  it  out  of  the  bottle.  So  he 
tipped  it  up  further  and  fuither,  and  then 
there  came  so  much  of  it.  and  so  strong,  that 
he  was  strangled,  and,  losing  his  balance,  he 
fell  backward.     What  a  smash  there  was  I 


00 


THE  BRANDY  DROPS. 


the  npset  stool,  the  sprawling  boj,  the 
broken  decanter,  and  the  spilled  brandy  I 

Jnst  then  Mrs.  Williams,  returning  from 
the  apothecary's,  opened  the  door. 

"  Goodness  gracious  !"  she  exclaimed  ; 
*'that  beautiful  decanter  that  my  mother 
gave  me!"   and  she  stepped  forward   to 


JAMIE   WILl,IAMS.  01 

pick  up  some  of  the  broken  fragments. 
"  How  dare  you  ?"  said  she,  aiming  a 
blow  at  James,  who  had  by  tliis  time 
picked  liimself  up ;  but  tlie  naughty  boy 
dodged  it,  slipped  out  at  the  door,  and  run- 
ning down  the  alley,  was  soon  in  the  street. 

Now  what  should  he  do?  He  could 
not  go  to  school,  for  he  had  neither  books 
nor  hat,  and  he  dared  not  go  home  again. 
But  it  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  run 
away,  and  so  he  wandered  off  down  to  the 
docks  and  among  the  boats.  The  want 
of  a  hat  troubled  him  for  a  while.  He  was 
afraid  the  police  would  pick  him  up  as  a 
vagrant  and  take  him  to  the  station-house. 
At  last  he  fished  an  old  one  out  of  the 
dock  and  dried  it  in  the  sun,  and  this  he 
thought  better  than  nothing. 

At  home  dinner-time  came  and  went, 
but  no  Jamie.  Mr.  Williams  seldom  came 
liome  to  dinner,  but  the  mother  knew  that 
if  James  did  not  return  before  his  father 
came  home  at  night  he  would  receive  a 
severe  beating. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  she  felt  worse 
about  this   than   she   did    about  Jamie's 


J2  THE    BRANDY    DROPS. 

naughty  deeds,  for  which  he  deserved  flog- 
ging. It  is  really  selfish  in  any  parents 
who  will  not  have  their  children  punished 
when  they  deserve  it,  merely  because  it 
hurts  their  own  feelings ;  but  perhaps  Mrs. 
Williams  did  not  know  any  better;  at  all 
events  she  was  to  be  pitied,  as,  from  time 
to  time,  she  went  out  to  the  street  and 
looked  anxiously  up  and  down  in  vain  for 
her  child.  Ah,  very  few  children  know 
how  much  trouble  they  make  their  parents. 
Before  nio-lit  James  beo;an  to  have  some 
better  thoughts.  If  he  had  been  a  tem- 
perance boy  he  would  not  have  feigned 
sickness  for  the  sake  of  getting  some 
brandy ;  he  would  not  have  broken  the 
decanter,  and  run  away.  In  short,  he 
M'ould  have  been  at  school,  happy,  neat, 
and  clean,  studying  his  lessons,  instead  of 
wandering  about  hungry,  cold,  and  guilty, 
with  the  certainty  of  a  sound  flogging 
when  he  reached  home.  He  came  to  the 
wise  conclusion  that  the  temperance  folks 
were  the  best  off  by  far.  Then,  too,  if  it 
was  as  Mr.  Price  said,  about  foreigners 
being  opposed  to  temperance  and  Ameri 


una.    TflLLIAMS    LOOKING    FoU    HEK    CUILO. 


JAMIE   WILLIAMS.  Oft 

cans  being  in  favor  of  it,  wliy^  lie  ought 
to  be  in  favor  of  it,  for  was  lie  not  an 
American,  born  on  American  soil?  And 
this  feeling,  very  common  among  the  chil- 
dren of  naturalized  foreigners,  was  very 
etronff  with  Jamie. 

But  at  last,  home  he  must  go.  Pie  had 
found  nothing  all  day  to  satisfy  his  hunger 
but  a  fcAv  half-ruttcn  apples ;  and  besides, 
he  could  not  remain  in  the  streets  all  night. 
He  crept  up  the  dark  alley  and  up  the 
stairs  to  the  kitchen  door.  There  was  a 
light  in  the  room.  He  opened  the  door 
•carefully,  but  seeing  his  father  sitting  there 
reading  his  newspaper,  evidently  waiting 
for  him,  he  turned  and  ran  away.  It  was? 
of  no  use ;  he  was  soon  brought  back,  and 
O  what  a  whipping  he  did  get!  And 
when  he  went  sobbing,  smarting,  and  sup 
perless  to  bed,  he  could  not  help  thinking 
of  the  Scripture  in  his  last  Sunday-school 
lessson :  "  The  way  of  the  transgressor  is 
hard." 


f6  THE  BRANDY   DR0P8. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  TEMPERANCE   SOCIETY   FORMEI>. 

When  Jefferson  Townley  had  stiidiea 
his  pledge,  as  he  said,  he  found  that  he 
must  promise  not  only  that  he  would  not 
use  it  himself  nor  offer  it  to  his  friends, 
but  he  must  try  to  "  abolish  its  use  as  a 
beverage  from  the  nation  and  the  world." 
He  did  not  see  how  he  could  do  that,  and 
he  did  not  like  to  promise  anything  that 
he  could  not  perform.  So  he  brought  it 
to  Charlie  for  an  explanation,  but  Charlie 
had  thought  nothing  about  it.  Tlie  next 
resort  was  that  Charlie  should  ask  his 
father.     This  was  soon  done. 

"  AYhy  now,"  said  Mr.  Martin,  "  do  you 
not  suppose  if  you  could  get  everybody  to 
sign  and  keep  such  a  pledge,  that  the 
world  would  soon  be  free  from  intoxica- 
tion ?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  should  think  so,"  replied 
Charlie. 


A  TEMPERANCE   SOCIETY   FORMED,         97 

"Well,  if  you  get  all  you  can  to  sign 
jt,  and  if  you  never  drink,  buy,  sell,  nor 
offer  it  to  others,  that  would  be  trying  to 
abolish  it  from  the  world  so  far  as  you  are 
able." 

This  explanation,  when  reported  to  Jeff, 
proved  quite  satisfactory  ;  and  taking  his 
pen  he  wrote  his  name  with  a  flourish, 
saying : 

"There,  I  can  subscribe  to  every  word 
of  it!" 

By  noon  Jefferson  was  ready  with  an- 
other proposition.  Could  they  not  get 
some  of  the  other  boys  to  sign  it  ?  would 
not  that  be  doing  what  they  could  to  fighi 
it  out  of  the  world  ?  Charlie  thought 
that  would  be  a  good  idea;  and  then  he 
remembered  what  Eddie  had  said  about 
Jamie  Williams. 

■  "  Well,  now,"  said  he,  "i  will  tell  Jamie 
that  I  have  signed  the  ])ledge,  and  per- 
haps he  will  sign  it,"  and  off  they  started 
to  find  him. 

Poor  Jamie  was  feeling  rather  dull.     It 
was  the  da}'  after  his  scrajie,  as  he  called 
it.     His  cold  was  really  worse  than  on  the 
7' 


*8  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

day  before,  and  he  was  feeling  rather  sore 
from  the  severe  whipping.  He  was  sitting 
alone  at  his  desk,  when  to  h's  surprise 
he  saw  Jeff  and  Charlie  coming  toward 
him. 

"  Come,  Jamie,"  said  Jeff  in  a  cheerful 
voice,  "  Charlie  and  I  have  been  signing 
the  pledge  ;  would  not  you  like  to  ?" 

"Well,  I  don't  know  but  I  would.  I 
don't  see  any  use  it  is  going  to  be  to  me  to 
drink,  any  way  ;  and  I  do  believe  it  is  one 
of  the  meanest  things  in  the  world  to  be  a 
drunkard." 

"That  is  just  what  I  think,"  said  Jeff, 
with  a  clap  on  Jamie's  shoulder  in  his 
friendly  way. 

So  he  sat  down  by  his  side  and  began 
to  explain  the  pledge.  "Would  he  like  to 
sign  all  that  ? 

Yes,  that  he  would  !  he  would  like  to 
be  a  temperance  man  all  over,  teetotal. 
But  then  where  could  he  get  such  a  card  I 
must  he  have  just  such  a  one  ? 

Jeff  smilingly  assured  him  that  it  waa 
not  necessary.  It  would  be  enough  just 
to  copy  that  off  and  sign  his  nanm  co  it, 


A  TEMPERANCE    SOCIETY    FORMED.    99 

or  promise  to  do  it  any  way.  "  But 
then,"  said  ho,  "  I'd  like  to  have  you  get 
a  card  just  like  ours  I  must  find  out 
where  they  are  kept.  If  they  do  not  cost 
too  much,  I  will  get  a  card  for  every  boy 
in  the  school  that  will  sign  the  pledge." 

"Why,  how  will  you  pay  for  them?" 
asked  Charlie. 

"  I'll  give  my  quai'ter  of  a  dollar  spend- 
ing money  that  I  have  every  week." 

"It  would  be  too  bad  to  have  you  do  it 
all.  I'll  give  my  spending  money,  but  it 
is  only  ten  cents.  Perhaps  sonae  of  the 
other  boys  will  give  up  theirs.  Do  you 
have  any,  Jamie  ?" 

Jamie  shook  his  head,  but  after  a  min- 
ute he  added  :  "  I  have  now  and  then  a 
cent  or  two  that  I  get  for  running  errands. 
I'll  give  you  them." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Jeff.  "Charlie, 
you  will  be  the  treasurer.  There's  my 
quarter.  And  perhaps  your  father  can 
get  them  cheaper  than  we  could." 

"I  have  only  five  cents  left,"  replied 
Charlie  ;  "  but  that  shall  go  along  with 
it,  and  I'll  ask  father  about  the  pledges." 


iOO  THK   BRANDY  DROPS. 

"Now,"  pursued  Jeff,  "let's  see  whc 
else  we  can  get  to  sign  it.  There's  Eddie, 
ne  has  signed  it  already,  that  makes  four 
of  us.  Good !  we  shall  be  quite  a  little 
company." 

In  the  evening  Charlie  went  with  his 
father  to  see  about  the  card  pleages. 
When  the  stationer,  who  was  a  personal 
friend  of  Mr.  Martin,  heard  the  story  of 
the  little  temperance  societj-,  he  promised 
to  supply  them  with  cards  at  the  whole- 
sale price,  which  was  three  cents  each, 
the  usual  price  being  live  cents.  So 
little  Charlie  laid  out  his  thirty  cents  in 
cards. 

Yery  happy  was  Charlie  to  take  them 
to  school  the  next  day.  By  showing  them 
around  they  soon  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  other  boys,  and  they  k)und  six 
more  who  offered  to  join  them.  Jeff 
would  question  each  one  very  closely,  to 
Bee  whether  he  was  willing  to  keep  all  the 
promises,  and  when  he  found  that  they 
were  willing  to  do  so,  he  would  hand 
them  over  a  card,  and  see  that  they  put 
their  names  to  it. 


A  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY   FORMED,  101 

When  they  had  all  done  this,  Jeff 
sprang  upon  a  desk  and  began  to  ha- 
rangue them.  "Now,  fellow-soldiers,' 
said  he.  "  we  must  fight!  We  have  prom- 
ised to  do  our  best  to  drive  intoxicating 
liquors  out  of  the  country,  and  we  will 
tight  like  men  ;  won't  we,  my  lads  V 

Upon  this  all  the  boys  pulled  off  their 
hats,  and  began  to  hurra  for  temperance. 

In  the  midst  of  it  who  should  come  in 
but  Clifford  Nash  !  Now  as  it  happened 
very  fortunately  for  our  little  temperance 
champions,  Clifford  had  been  absent  from 
school  for  some  days,  or  else  he  would 
have  fought  against  it,  and  put  no  ordi 
nary  stumbling-blocks  in  their  way.  As 
it  was  they  had  fairly  the  start  of  him. 
They  were  all  on  the  side  of  right,  and 
they  knew  it.  From  that  day  Cliff's  in- 
fluence among  the  boys  of  that  school 
waned.  But  the  temperance  boys,  as  they 
were  called,  prospered  finely.  At  the 
suggestion  of  George  Barker,  and  with 
bis  help,  they  formed  a  regularly  organized 
society,  of  which  Jeff  was  unanimously 
elected  the  president,  Charlie   the  treas'i- 


102  THE   BRANDY   DROPS. 

rer,  and  George  kindly  consented  to  lenO 
uis  aid  as  secretary. 

It  would  make  my  story  quite  too  long 
to  relate  all  their  interesting  adventures 
in  getting  signatures  to  the  pledge.  After 
getting  nearly  all  the  school,  they  went 
out  into  the  streets  and  hunted  up  a  great 
many  little  boys,  and  persuaded  them  to 
join  their  society.  They  met  at  noon  time 
in  the  school-j'ard,  and  in  this  way  many 
a  ragged  little  boy  began  to  come  to 
school,  and  then  to  the  Sunday  school  ; 
and  it  would  take  another  whole  book  to 
tell  half  the  good  they  did  in  this  way. 

Man}'  of  these  deeds  and  adventures 
may  yet  be  told  in  some  future  volume 
We  think  enough  has  been  said  here  to 
show  the  value  of  the  pledge  even  to  little 
folks  that  we  do  not  suppose  to  be  in 
much  danger  from  intoxicating  drinks. 
And  very  many  of  our  little  readers  could, 
no  doubt,  get  others  to  sign  the  pledge 
also.  Perhaps  they  could  get  up  a  little 
Bociety,  that  would  be  pleasant  as  well 
as  useful  to  its  members.  And,  to  begin 
with,  here  is  one  of  the  favorite  hymns 


A  TEMPERANCE   SOCIETY    FOKMED.    \0b 

^f  tbe  "Temperance  Boys,"  as  they  called 
themselves.  Learn  it  yourself,  at  all 
events,  and  get  up  a  temperance  society 
if  you  can. 

THE    PLEDGE. 

"United  in  a  joyous  band, 

We'll  sign  the  pledge  with  heart  and  hand  ; 

The  ruby  wine  we'll  lay  aside, 

And  be  our  country's  hope  and  pride. 

"  'T  will  keep  the  roses  on  the  cheek, 
Preserve  the  spirit  mild  and  meek  ; 
The  eye  will  beam  expression  bright, 
The  mind  improve  in  wisdom's  light. 

"  It  makes  the  home  of  labor  sweet,  . 

And  happy  faces  there  you'll  greet ; 

It  leads  the  way  to  honest  wealth, 

And  gives  earth's  choicest  blessing-    heaith." 


The   Consultation. 


Tn  E 


TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TOO    .AIUCH    COLD    WATER. 

"Well,  Charlie,"  said  Mr.  Martin 
to  his  son,  how  does  yoni-  temper- 
ance society  prosper  ?  I  have  not 
heard  much  about  it  for  some  weeks. 
Do  you  still  keep  up  your  meet- 
ings?" 

"  Yes,  father,"  replied  Charlie ;  "  Lat 
t  hen  you  know  we  meet  in  the  school- 
yaid,  and  it  is  getting  to  Le  so  cold 
now,  that  the  boys  only  stay  a  Httle 
while  when  they  do  come.     They  run 


108  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

off  to  keep  warm  by  playing,  or  go 
back  into  the  house  again." 

"  Then  they  still  continue  to  come, 
do  they  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  they  are  almost  all  there 
one  day  or  another  through  the  week, 
but  they  begin  to  leave  after  they 
have  been  there  a  few  minutes ;  and 
indeed,  none  of  us  can  stay  long.  If 
we  only  had  a  comfortable  place  to 
meet  in,  w^e  could  do  well." 

"Why  do  you  not  meet  in  the 
school-i'oom  ?  Would  not  your  teach- 
er permit  you  to  do  so  ?" 

"  He  said  we  might,  if  we  would 
not  bring  in  boys  from  the  street." 

"And  what  do  you  want  of  boys 
from  the  street  ?  Have  you  not 
enough  \\  ithout  them  ?"  inquired  the 
father. 

"  I  think  so,  papa  ;  but  as  we  have 


TOO    MUrll    COLD    WATiai.         100 

got  one  or  two  of  tbem  to  come  to 
school,  Jeff  Townley  thinks  we  had 
better  keep  ^hem  all  in,  and  perhaps 
we  may  get  ijore  of  them  to  attend 
Bchool.  It  just  spoils  our  meetings. 
If  It  were  not  for  them  we  should 
have  first-rate  times." 

"Well,  what  is  Jefferson  going  to 
•lo  about  it  ?" 

"01  don't  know.  Sometimes  he 
talks  about  getting  somebody  to  let 
us  have  a  room ;  but  I  think  he 
might  just  as  well  let  the  street  boys 
go.  They  are  only  a  trouble  t6  us, 
any  way." 

Charles  said  this  rather  bitterly. 
To  be  sure,  he  was  only  the  treas- 
urer of  the  little  society,  and  Jeffer- 
son Townley  was  the  president ;  but 
then  he  claimed  the  honor  of  ha^'ing 
originated    it.     He    took    too    much 


]  10  THE   TEMPEEANCE    BOYS. 

lioiior  to  himself,  however,  for  though 
he  and  his  brother  Eddie  were  the 
first  to  sign  the  pledge,  yet  it  was 
Jeff  that  first  proposed  ha^dng  officers 
and  an  organization.  But  this  made 
little  difference  about  the  advice.  No 
advice  should  be  taken  if  it  is  not 
good,  no  matter  from  whom  it  comes. 
Mr.  Martin  was  interrupted  in  his 
conversation  with  his  son  by  domestic 
business,  and  before  he  was  through 
with  this,  Charlie  was  off  to  school 
But  Mr.  Martin  did  not  foiget  about 
it.  He  felt  a  deep  concern  in  tho 
prosperity  of  that  society;  for  since 
his  young  sons  had  become  inter- 
ested in  this  little  temperance  move- 
ment, many  things  had  come  to  his 
knowledge  that  surprised  him.  He 
found  that  young  people  genei'ally 
were   acquiring  a  fearful  familiarity 


TOO  ]\n[cn  COLD  water.       Ill 

tt'itli  tlie  taste  and  appearance  of  in- 
toxicating liquors.  Twenty  years  be- 
fore tliis,  when  lie  was  a  lad,  the  tem- 
perance reform  was  very  popular,  and 
a  young  man  could  hardly  disgrace 
himself  more  than  to  let  it  be  known 
that  he  was  a  tippler.  K  he  only 
refused  to  sign  the  pledge  he  was 
looked  upon  suspiciously.  Men  of 
good  social  standing  would  hardly  be 
willing  to  be  seen  purchasing  alco- 
hol, even  for  medicinal  and  mechan- 
ical purposes,  such  was  the  universal 
odium  that  had  fallen  upon  it. 

"But  now,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"things  are  changed.  Men  drink, 
boys  drink,  and  I  do  not  know  but 
women  drink  too.  They  certaiidy 
have  it  on  their  sideboards,  and  offer 
it  to  others  again,  just  as  they  did  in 
my  father's  days,  before  the  temper- 


113  THE    TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

ancc  reform  was  dreamed  of.  It  is 
but  a  few  years  since  we  thought  in- 
temperance almost  driven  out  of  the 
land ;  but  here  I  see  liquor  shops  on 
almost  every  corner,  and  saloons  on 
every  block." 

And  so  Mr.  Martin  pursued  this 
train  of  thoujxht  as  he  w^ent  about  his 
business,  till,  finally,  he  set  his  heart 
on  helping  these  young  temperance 
folks. 

But  how  should  he  do  it  ?  was  the 
question.  We  will  leave  the  gentle- 
man to  form  his  benevolent  plans, 
while  we  go  to  the  ward  school-house 
and  witness  a  meeting  of  the  temper- 
ance boys,  which  took  place  one  or 
two  days  later. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber, and  the  weather  was  much  colder 
than  usual  for  that  time  of  year.     At 


TOO    MUCH    COLD   WATF.R.  113 

noon  the  boys  put  on  their  caps,  and 
coats,  and  mufflers,  and  were  soon  fill- 
ing the  yard,  in  high  glee,  playing 
tag,  ball,  leap-frog,  follow-master,  and 
i>ome  other  such  stirring  plays,  suita- 
ble for  the  cold  weather. 

"But  say,  George,"  said  one  of  a 
group  of  boys  that  gathered  under 
the  tree ;  "  isn't  it  too  cold  to  have  a 
temperance  meeting  to-day  V 

"  It  is  rather  cold,  that  is  a  fact ! 
but  don't  let's  give  it  up  entirely. 
Let's  have  a  sing,  at  all  events ;  let's 
sing, '  Come,  sons  of  Columbia.' "  As 
no  one  objected,  he  struck  it  up  to 
the  merry  tune  of  "The  Star-Span- 
gled  Banner,"  and  as  they  marched 
about  the  tree  singing  it,  half  the 
schooi  gathered  aiound  them. 

And  it  was  a  pretty  song,  too 
Here  is  the  whole  of  it 

8 


114    THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS. 


"  COME,  SONS  OF  COLUMBIA, 

"  Come,  sons  of  Columbia,  while,  prouflly  and  high, 
Every  heart  with  the  love  of  our  freedom  is 
swelling, 
While  our  star-blazon'd  bird  has  his  home  in  the 

sky, 

And  tyranny's    death-song    is    heard    in    each 

dwelling. 
Come,  the  bright  chalice  drain,  and  again  and  again. 
Let  our  pledge  and  our  toast,  in  a  far-sounding 

strain, 
Be  water,  pure  water,  bright  sparkling  with  glee. 
That    flows,   like    our   life-blood,   unfettered  and 

free. 

"  0 1    the   wine-cup   may  sparkle   its   ruby  dropa 

bright, 
And  o'er  its  glad  brim,  in  phalanx  advancing, 
Fair  gossamer  spirits,  in  rainbow-like  light. 

May  to  bacchanal  music  be  gracefully  dancing 
While  they  dazzle  our  eyes  with  the  hues  of  the 

skies. 
Soft  and  silvery  tones  on  the  breeze  seem  tu  rise, 
'Tis  the  gush  of  pure  water,  bright,  sparkling  with 

glee, 
That  flows  like  our  life-blood,  unfettered  and  free. 


TOO    MUCH    COLD   WATER.  115 

*  O,  then,  hail  to  thee,  water !  the  bacchanal's  Xosn^t 
May  be  drunk  in  red  wine,  that  in  ruddy  light 

flashes ; 
I?ut  Columbia's  freemen  still  proudly  shall  boast 
Of  the  free  gift  of  God,  that  o'er  hill  and  dalfa 

dashes. 
The  diamond's  bright  ray  seems  forever  at  play 
On  the  glancing  cup;  and  tlie  soul-breathing  lay 
Shall  be  praise  of  pure  water,  bright,  sparkling  with 

glee. 
The  gift  of  our  God,  and  the  drink  of  the  free." 

They  sang  on  right  cheerily  till 
they  came  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
second  verse,  when  fizz !  up  rose  a  jet 
of  Croton  water  from  the  other  side 
of  the  fence  near  by,  and  down  it 
came,  splash,  all  over  the  little  group, 
and  they  scattered,  poor  wet  boys,  lit- 
tle and  big,  as  quickly  as  if  a  fii-e- 
brand  had  been  thrown  in  their  midst. 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !"  shouted  the  mock- 
ing voice  of  Clifford  Nash,  who  was 
at  this  moment  standing  at  a  safe  dis- 


116  THE   TEMPEEANCE    BOYS. 

tance,  looking  on.  "  Got  cold  water 
enough  now,  hav'n't  you  ?  Quite 
cooled  down,  I  reckon  !" 

"Ah,  you  young  scape-grace,"  said 
one  of  the  larger  boys ;  "  you  are  at 
the  bottom  of  that." 

"Indeed!"  he  replied;  "I  think  I 
am  out  of  that  entirely." 

And  so  he  was  out  of  the  way  of 
the  water,  of  course. 

But  it  was  a  cruel  joke.  The 
weather  was  so  cold  that  the  water 
froze  almost  as  soon  as  it  fell,  and  the 
poor  boys,  some  of  whom  were  badly 
wet,  were  glad  to  run  into  the  house 
and  dry  themselves  by  the  fare. 

When  this  came  to  the  knowledij^e 
of  the  principal,  there  were  some  in- 
quiries made  about  it.  It  was  found 
that  the  water  was  thrown  up  from  a 
neighboring  yard,  belonging  to  a  fire- 


TOO    .MUCH    COLD   WATER.  117 

company,  and  some  of  them  said  they 
believed  that  Jack  was  using  the  hose 
out  in  the  yard  about  that  time.  Jack 
was  nowhere  to  be  found  just  then; 
but  if  he  had  been  questioned  about 
it,  he  might  not  have  been  able  truth- 
fully to  deny  his  acquaintance  with 
Clitford  Nasli,  or  his  own  love  of 
mischief;  and  perhaps,  too,  Cliiford's 
pocket-money  had  something  to  do 
with  it. 

I  do  not  see  how  Cliff,  the  worth- 
less fellow,  could  have  done  it,  for  the 
pool'  boys  would  be  likely  to  take 
such  colds  as  would  half  kill  them 
But  I  suppose  he  did  not  care,  for  he 
jiated  the  temperance  boys  for  doiag 
what  he  knew  he  ought  to  do  him- 
self; and  so  he  had  been  their  enemy 
from  the  first,  using  most  freely  that 
favorite  weapon  of  aU  cowards,  ridi- 


118         THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

cule.  And  tliis  was  what  the  boys 
felt  most  keenly  now.  Their  health 
might  or  might  not  suffer  serious  re- 
sults ;  their  spirits  certainly  did.  To 
think  of  being  showered  with  cold 
water,  and  that  too  while  in  the  very 
act  of  singing  its  praises,  was  so  lu- 
dicrous that  older  persons,  even  the 
teacher  himself,  could  hardly  refrain 
fi"om  a  smile  when  they  heard  about 
it,  and  others  lau2:hed  outrio;ht. 

"  Got  cold  water  enough  for  once, 
I  guess,"  cried  one. 

"'O,  then,  hail  to  thee,  water!'" 
bung  out  another. 

Even  the  boys  that  they  had  looked 
upon  as  quite  friendly  and  disposed 
to  join  them,  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  of  a  little  meriiment  on 
so  apt  an  occasion.  Charlie's  sensi- 
tive spirit  suffered  acutely,  though  he 


TOO    MUCH    COLD    WATER.  119 

tried  to  say  to  himself,  "  I  wou't  care. 
We  did  nothing  wrong." 

George  Barker,  the  secretary,  ft  r- 
tunately  escaped  with  very  little  wet- 
ting, but  he  laid  the  matter  to  heart 
as  a  serious  injury  to  their  cause 
among  the  school-boys.  Numbers 
who  were  friendly,  and  would  soon 
have  joined  them,  would  novv^  be  pre 
vented  by  the  ridicule,  and  the  fear 
of  similar  persecutions  in  the  future ; 
and  he  felt  sure  that  the  society 
would  soon  go  down  unless  some 
other  place  of  meeting  could  be 
found.  So  he  went  to  his  desk  look- 
ing so  gloomy  and  downcast  that  he 
received  his  full  share  of  the  ridi- 
cule. 

Jefferson  Townley  was  the  fii-st  to 
rally,  and  he  declared  that  the  fel- 
lows  had    made   a   mistake ;  he  be- 


120  THE    TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

lievo.d  they  must  have  been  tipsy,  fol 
everybody  knew  that  rum  would  do 
for  external  application,  while  the 
temperance  boys  believed  in  water 
for  the  internal. 

Just  now  Clifford  stepped  up  to 
Jeff,  who  had  been  a  special  friend 
of  his  until  this  temperance  matter 
separated  them,  and  surveying  him 
from  head  to  foot,  he  said  with  a 
mock  patronizing  air :  "  Got  pretty 
wet,  didn't  you  ?  Don't  you  think 
you  had  better  take  a  glass  of  brandy 
to  prevent  a  cold  ?" 

"  A  glass  of  brandy !"  exclaimed 
Jeff,  firing  up ;  "  I  would  not  take 
such  a  dose  as  that  if  I  had  been 
ducked  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean !" 

This  turned  the  laugh  somewhal, 
but  all  the  temperance  boys  felt 
quite  uncomfortable  during  the  rest 


TOO  .MUCH  COLD   WATER.  1  !?1 


of  the  day.  Some  of  them  got  (;x- 
cused,  and  went  home  to  put  on  dry 
clothing ;  a  very  suitable  proceeding, 
but  it  only  added  to  the  jokes  of  the 
others,  for  they  thought  it  a  "pit}'  if 
they  could  not  stand  so  much  cold 
water  as  that." 

Charlie  Martin  carried  a  long  face 
home  from  school  that  day,  and  it 
was  a  bitter  tale  he  had  to  repeat  to 


122        THE  IJilMPERANCE  BOTS. 

the  sympathising  family  circle.  He 
was  sure  it  would  be  the  ruin  of  their 
little  society. 

"  Well,  my  son,"  said  Mr.  Mai-tiu, 
"  I  see  you  are  not  very  hopeful  about 
your  affiiirs." 

"I  do  not  see  anything  to  hope," 
was  the  moody  reply. 

"  Well,  now,  suppose  somebody 
should  get  up  a  thanksgi\ang  dinner 
for  them,  don't  you  think  it  would 
help  them  a  little  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,  I  don't  know  but  that 
would,"  replied  Charles,  brightening 
up  perceptibly. 

"  There  you  see  how  easily  some- 
thing might  be  done ;  so  I  advise  yon 
to  keep  your  courage  up,  and  we  wilJ 
cons  alt  mother,  and  see  what  can  be 
done." 

Mrs.  Martin  was  consulted  in  due 


TOO  MUCH  COLD   WATER.  123 

form,  though  if  Charlie  had  noticed 
the  quiet  smile  with  which  she  re- 
ceived the  proposition,  he  might 
have  guessed  that  she  had  heard  of  it 
before. 

The  result  of  the  consultation  was, 
that  the  temperance  boys  should  be 
invited  to  dine  at  ]\Ir.  Martin's,  at 
three  o'clock  on  Thanksgiving-day, 
which  would  be  on  Thui'sday  of  the 
next  week.  This  invitation,  when 
circulated  among  the  boys  the  next 
morning,  warmed  them  up,  and  threw 
off  some  of  the  chill  left  by  the  ad 
venture  of  the  previous  day. 


124    THE  TEMPERA XCE  BOYS. 


CHx\FrEii  n. 

THE  THANKSGIVE^TG  DINTSEE. 

Thanksgiying-day  came  Ttricrhfc 
and  clear,  and  just  cold  enougli  to  be 
pleasant.  Three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  found  a  brilliant  company  of 
little  folks  assembled  at  Mr.  JNIartin's 
They  were  brilliant,  not  Tvith  jewels, 
but  with  clean,  neat  attire,  and  happy, 
smiling  faces. 

Mr.  Martin  himself  waited  upon 
them  at  the  door,  to  receive  their  j^ass- 
word,  as  he  playfully  called  it.  When 
Chai'lie  was  giving  the  invitations, 
some  of  the  boys  had  inquired,  half  in 
sport,  if  there  was  any  password  by 
which   the  members   of  the  society 


THE    THANKSGIVING    DINNER.     125 

should  be  known.  When  Mr.  Martin 
heard  of  this,  he  immediately  pi'oposed 
that  each  one  should  recite  a  veise 
of  Scripture,  showing  the  duty  or  ad- 
vantages of  temperance,  and  that 
should  be  their  password. 

It  was  quite  interesting  to  listen  to 
the  various  texts  that  were  quoted,' 
though  many  of  them  showed  greater 
familiarity  with  the  concordance  than 
with  the  Bible. 

As  might  be  expected,  many  of 
them  chose  the  same  texts.  That  most 
frequently  quoted  was :  "  And  as  he 
reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance, 
and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trem- 
bled." Next  in  frequency  followed 
those  excellent  admonitions  of  Solo- 
mon in  the  book  of  Proverbs  :  "  Look 
not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 
when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup, 


126  THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS. 

when  it  moveth  itself  ariglit :  at  the 
Uist  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  sting- 
eth  like  an  adder."  George  Barker 
repeated:  "Be  not  among  wine-bib- 
bers, among  riotous  eaters  of  flesh,  for 
the  drunkard  and  the  glutton  shall 
come  to  poverty." 

"  An  excellent  admonition  to  keep 
good  company,"  said  Mr.  Martin  ;  "  I 
hope  you  will  heed  it." 

"  You  see  I  am  trying  to,  sir,"  was 
the  polite  response ;  and  no  one  who 
knew  George  would  have  doubted 
him,  for  he  w^as  called  "  a  very  steady 
young  man" 

Then  followed  Willie  Bathbone, 
with  the  text,  "  This  our  son  is  stub- 
born and  rebellious,  he  will  not  obey 
our  voice,  he  is  a  glutton  and  a  drunk- 
ard. And  all  the  men  of  the  city 
shall  stone  him  with  stones,  that  he 


THE  THANKSGIVING    DIXXEK.      127 

die ;  so  slialt  thou  put  away  evil  from 
among  you ;  and  all  Israel  shall  hear 
.ind  fear." 

Little  Eddie  Martin,  who  wfwi  al- 
ways sure  to  be  where  anything  un- 
usual was  going  on,  had  slipped  out 
into  the  hall.  He  had  taken  great 
interest  in  these  Bible  texts  since 
they  were  first  mentioned,  and  he 
had  been  searching  the  Bible  faithful- 
ly to  see  what  he  could  find.  He 
had  more  than  once  wished  that  he 
was  a  visitoi",  so  that  he  could  say  his 
verse,  for  he  had  one  that  he  liked 
very  .  much.  So  when  he  came  out 
there,  and  stood  in  the  hall,  and  heard 
some  of  the  same  verses  so  many 
times  repeated,  a  bright  thought 
came  over  him.  In  less  than  a  min- 
ute he  had  acted  upon  it.  He  ran 
down  stall's  and  out  of  the  front  base- 


128  THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS. 

ment  door,  into  the  street.  He  did 
not  like  to  ring  the  bell  himself,  so  he 
waited  till  some  others  came  up,  and 
he  went  in  after  them. 

. "  So  ho !"  exclaimed  his  father,  with 
a  laugh,  "  you  want  to  get  in  do  you  ? 
Well,  now,  I  will  let  j^ou  in  on  one 
condition,  and  if  you  cannot  comply 
with  it  you  may  stay  out  or  go  back 
by  the  way  you  came.  If  you  will 
repeat  a  verse  that  no  one  else  has 
repeated,  you  may  come  in," 

"  I  have  drunk  neither  wino  nor 
strong  drink,"  said  the  little  fellow, 
and  he  looked  somewhat  anxiout?,  for 
he  had  not  heard  all  the  verses,  and  he 
did  not  quite  relish  the  idea  of  being 
sent  back  to  come  in  at  the  basement 
way.  Besides,  the  unusual  conversa- 
tion had  reached  the  ears  of  the  vis- 
itors in  the  parlor,  and  they  had  aD 


THE  THANKSGIVING   DINNISE.     129 

come  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
and  there  they  stood  facing  him. 

Eddie  could  not  imagine  why  his 
father  did  not  answer  him.  He  did 
not  see  the  emotion  gathering  in  that 
})arent'8  eye,  and  he  exchiimed :  "  Well, 
father,  I  do  not  know  whether  any 
one  else  has  said  that  or  not,  hut  it  i^> 
true,  '  I  have  drunk  neither  wine  nor 
strong  drink '  in  my  life ;  and  I  do  not 
mean  to,  if  I  live  to  be  a  hundred 
years  old." 

"  Come  in,  my  boy,  come  in,"  ex- 
claimed the  hap])y  father,  clasping 
the  little  fellow  in  his  arms ;  "  I  would 
let  in  all  the  boys  in  the  city  if  they 
could  say  that." 

Soon  after  this  Jeft'ei'son  Townley 
arrived,  and  was  a  little  surprised  to 
find  the  whole  company  in  the  haU 
to  receive  him. 


loO  TfiE   TEMPERANCi;    BOYS. 

"  Don't  be  afraid,"  said  Mr.  Martin ; 
"  the  boys  have  come  out  to  listen  to 
the  verses,  and  I  presume  they  will 
be  very  glad  that  they  have  come  in 
time  to  hear  yours." 

Jefferson  bowed,  and  rej^eated 
slowly  and  distinctly :  "  But  Daniel 
purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would 
not  defile  himself  with  the  portion  of 
the  king's  meat,  nor  with  the  wine 
which  he  drank," 

"  Well,  that  is  an  excellent  resolu- 
tion," replied  Mr.  Martin ;  "  and  you 
will  all  see,  by  several  of  the  verses 
that  have  been  repeated,  that  there  is 
an  intemperance  in  eating  as  well  as 
drinking;  not  only  in  eating  food  that 
has  intoxicating  properties,  but  also 
in  eating  too  much,  so  that  the  person 
injures  himself.  It  will  be  well  for 
you  all  in  future   life   to   remembei 


THE   THANKSGIVING    DINNER.        131 

that  the  Bible  classes  gluttony  with 
druukeuuess,  and  it  may  save  you  a 
fine  intellect  with  which  to  bless  the 
world.'' 

In  due  time  all  present  were  seat- 
ed around  the  generous-sized  dinner- 
table.  There  were  about  one  third 
of  the  temperance  boys  who  were 
not  present;  some  who  were  visit- 
ing with  nearer  friends,  uncles,  aunts, 
cousins,  and  grandparents,  after  the 
old  New-England  fashion.  There 
were  about  twenty  assembled  here, 
and  they  formed  a  goodly  company. 

"  Now,  my  young  friends,"  said  Mr. 
Martin,  after  the  blessing  had  been 
juiked,  "I  will  give  you  a  choice  of 
drinks  for  dinner,  tea,  coffee,  or  cold 
water." 

"Cold  water,  sir,  if  you  please," 
was  the  almost  unanimous  response. 


132  THE   TEMPERAKCE    BOYS. 

and  cold  water  it  was.  A  cheerful, 
plentiful  meal  followed,  with  a  des- 
sert of  fruits,  and  toasts  in  cold  water. 
]Mr.  Martin  commenced  with,  "The 
temperance  boys :  success  to  all  their 
good  undertakings."  "Thank  you, 
sir,"  said  Jeffei'son,  rising  and  bowing 
to  JVIi\  Martin.  "I  think  we  have 
had  great  success  in  one  good  under- 
taking to-day,  and  that  is,  of  making 
a  good  dinner ;  and  I  hope  none  of  us 
will  find  ourselves  any  the  worse  for 
it.  Your  health.  Mi*.  Martin,  and 
yours,  Mi-s.  Martin,  May  you  live 
long  to  be  the  true  friends  of  temper- 
ance and  of  the  temperance  bo3''s." 
After  a  few  more  simple  toasts  Mr. 
Martin  said  that  he  had  a  new  subject 
to  propose  to  the  company. 

"I  have   been   thinkino^"  he   con- 
tinued,  "  what  I  could  do  to  help  your 


THE   THANKSGIVING    DIN]S:ER.    133 

little  society,  and  I  cannot  think  of 
anything  that  would  seem  more  ac- 
ceptable than  the  oifer  of  a  room  for 
you  to  meet  in.  There  is  one  that  is 
unoccupied  in  a  building  under  my 
care,  and  I  have  ventured  to  secure  it 
for  you  to  meet  in  once  or  twice  a 
week," 

This  proposition  was  received  in 
silent  wonder,  and  then  followed  a 
murmur  of  approbation.  "  O  how 
nice!"  "How  kind!"  "Just  the  thing!" 
and  so  on,  l^roke  from  their  lips.  "  I 
have  only  one  condition  to  propose," 
continued  Mr.  Martin ;  "  and  that  is, 
that  you  shall  use  your  best  endeavors 
to  get  others  to  come  in,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, that  each  of  you  shalJ  bring  in 
one  new  member.    Can  you  do  that  ?" 

Replies  of  "Yes,  sir,"  and  "We'll 
try,"  came  from  all  parts  of  the  room, 


134         THE   TEMPERANCE    BUYS 

and  Mr.  Martin,  after  telling  them 
where  the  room  was,  dismissed  the 
table,  and  they  all  adjourned  to  the 
parlor. 

Here  they  joined  in  a  general  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,  proposing  plans 
for  lighting  and  warming  it,  and  Mr. 
Martin  received  a  cordial  invitation 
to  visit  them  in  their  new  quarters. 
Jefferson  told  Mr.  Martin  that  it  was 
just  what  they  needed,  and  without 
something  of  the  kind  they  had  been 
fearing  that  the  little  society  would 
die  in  its  babyhood.  George  Barker 
was  also  particularly  dejighted.  He 
doubted  not  they  would  flourish  now 
finely,  and  he  thought  they  might 
induce  older  boys,  and  perhaps  the 
parents  of  the  members,  to  sign  the 
pledge ;  while  the  merry  voice  of 
Ralph   Sherman  spoke  out:    "If  wo 


THE   TnANKSGIVLNG    DUSTNER.    135 

should  all  say  what  we  think,  I  guess 
you'd  find  we  were  about  as  glad  to 
get  rid  of  the  danger  of  another 
shower-bath  as  anything," 

This  caused  a  merry  laugh,  and 
then  a  song  was  proposed,  and  they 
sang  to  the  air  of  "  Long,  long  ago :" 

"TOUCH  NOT  THE  CUP. 

"  Touch  not  the  cup,  it  is  death  to  thy  soul ; 

Toucli  not  the  cup,  touch  not  the  cup  : 
Many  I  know  who  have  quaff 'd  from  the  bowl ; 

Touch  not  the  cup,  toucli  it  not : 
Little  they  thought  that  the  demon  was  there, 
Blindly  they  drank,  and  were  caught  in  the  snare. 
Then  of  that  death-dealin<i;  bowl  0  beware! 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  it  not. 

"  Touch  not  the  cup  when  the  wine  glistens  bright 
Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  not  the  cup  : 

Though  like  the  ruby  it  shines  in  the  light ; 
Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  it  not : 

Th'  fangs  of  the  serpent  are  hid  in  the  bowl. 

Deeply  the  poison  will  enter  thy  soul, 

Boon  will  it  plunge  thee  beyond  thy  control : 
Touch  not  the  cup,  toucli  it  not. 


136  THE   TEMPERAITCE    BOY^. 

"Toucli  not  the  cup,  young  man,  in  thy  pride; 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  not  the  cup  : 
Hark  to  the  warnings  of  thousands  who've  died ; 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  it  not : 
Go  to  the  lonely  and  desolate  tomb, 
Think  of  tlie  death,  of  the  sorrow  and  gloom ; 
fhink  that   perhaps   thou    may'st   share    in    the 
doom : 

Touch  not  t]ae  cup,  touch  it  not. 

"  Touch  not  the  cup  ;  0  drink  not  a  drop ; 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  not  the  cup  : 
They  whom  thou  lovest  entreat  thee  to  stop ; 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  it  not : 
Stop  !  for  thy  home  that  to  thee  is  so  near, 
Stop  !  for  thy  friends  that  to  thee  are  so  dear, 
Stop !  for  thy  country,  the  God  that  you  fear  s 

Touch  not  the  cup,  touch  it  not." 

They  were  accompanied  by  Misa 
Amelia,  Charlie's  sister,  on  the  piano ; 
and  as  they  went  on  their  enthusiasm 
rose,  and  they  must  needs  ha\^e 
another  song,  and  to  the  tune  of  the 
*'  Last  Rose  of  Summer,"  they  sang. 


THE   TIIANKSGIVmO    DINNER.     137 


'TWAS  THE  LAST,  LAST  RUMSELLEB. 

•'  'Twas  tlie  last,  last  rumseller 

Sat  musing  alone ; 
All  his  former  companions 

Had  left  him  and  gone : 
Though  his  bottles  around  him 

Were  filled  to  the  brim. 
Yet  none  came  to  purchase. 

No  joy  was  for  him. 

"  They  had  left  him  all  lonely, 

Discarded  his  rum ; 
They  had  all  signed  the  pledge. 

Ajid  temperate  become. 
And  he  said,  as  he  sat  there, 

'  No  more  will  I  sell ; 
I  will  join  with  my  comrades. 

And  drink  from  the  well.' 

"  'Twas  the  last,  last  rumseller 

Took  pen  in  his  hand  ; 
'Twas  the  last,  last  rumseller 

Throughout  the  wide  land  ; 
Twas  the  last,  last  rumseller 

The  pledge  signed  that  night; 
And  the  conflict  was  over ; 

Wi  ong  yielded  to  right." 


1;JS  THE    TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

They  were  now  invited  to  partake 
of  some  nuts,  raisins,  and  candies,  and 
this  was  followed  by  some  childish 
sports,  in  which  all  joined,  such  as 
button,  lawyer,  fox-and-geese,  not  for 
getting  the  time-honored  game  of 
"  blind-man's-bufi^"  in  which  Mr.  Mar- 
tin made  them  lots  of  sport. 

Before  breaking  up,  which  they 
did  at  eight  o'clock,  their  young 
president  called  them  to  order,  and 
one  of  the  boys  moved  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  Mr.  Martin,  and  an  invita- 
tion to  visit  their  meetings  frequent- 
ly. Both  of  these  motions  were 
passed  unanimously.  Mr.  Martin 
kindly  responded,  assuring  them  of 
his  interest  in  their  welfare. 

Finally  Miss  Amelia  played  and 
sang  "  The  Kobin's  Temperance  Song," 
with  which  they  were  much  delighted 


THE  THANKSGIVIXCt   dixxer.    139 


♦'THE  ROBIN'S  TEMPERANCE  SOXG. 

"I  asked  a  sweet  robin,  one  morning  in  May, 
Who  sung  in  tlie  apple-tree  over  tlie  way, 
What  'twas  she  was  singing  so  sweetly  about ; 
For  I'd  tried  a  long  time,  but  could  not  find  out. 
'Why,  I'm  sure,'  she  replied,  'you  cannot  guesa 

wrong ; 
Don't  you  know  I  am  singing  a  temperance  song? 

'' '  Teetotal !  O  that's  the  first  word  of  my  lay, 
And  tlien  don't  you  see  how  I  twitter  away  ! 
'Tis   because   I've  just  dipi)'d   my  beak   in   the 

spring. 
And  brush'd  the  foir  face  of  the  lake  with  my 

wing. 
Cold  water!  cold  water!  yes,  that  is  my  song, 
And  I  love  to  keep  singing  it  all  the  day  l<.>ng. 

'  'And  now,  my  sweet  miss,  won't  you  give  me  a 

crumb, 
F'or  the  dear  little  nestlings  are  waiting  at  home  ? 
And  one   thing  besides;    since  my  story  you've 

heard, 
I  hope  you'll  remember  the  lay  of  the  bird  ; 
And  never  forget,  while  you  list  to  i.iy  song. 
All  the  birds  to  the  cold-water  aru'y  beh.Mig.'  " 


140  THE   TEMPERAlSrCE    BOYS. 

Soon  after  this  tliey  adjourned,  de- 
claring it  the  pleasantest  day  they 
ever  spent ;  and  singing  "  Good- 
night," with  merry  voices,  as  thev 
filed  out  of  the  hall. 


A   NEW   MKMBER.  14:1 


CHAPTER  m. 

A    NEW    MEMBER. 

At  their  first  meeting  in  the  new 
hall  they  made  rather  a  comical  ap- 
pearance. A  crazy  old  table  and  a 
rickety  chair  formed  the  hastily  col- 
lected accommodations  for  the  boy- 
president  ;  a  box  was  the  secretary's 
chair,  and  the  numerous  members  sat 
on  rough  planks,  supported  by  boxes. 
They  had,  with  the  consent  of  their 
parents,  fixed  the  time  of  their  meet- 
ing at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
which  was  directly  after  school,  so 
til  at  the}  avoided  the  necessity  of 
lighting  the  room,  and  the  much 
more  serious  evil  of  being  out  at 
night. 


14C  THE    TEMPEEANCE    BOYS. 

The  roll  being  duly  calJecl,  the 
members  were  requested  to  tell  what 
they  had  done  for  the  temperance 
cause  since  their  last  meeting. 

Willie  Rathbone  said  that  he  had 
induced  his  father,  and  mother,  and 
sister  to  sign  the  pledge,  and  to 
remove  the  liquors  from  the  side- 
board. They  had  once  been  firm 
temperance  people,  but  had  grown 
lax  on  the  subject  until  their  con- 
sciences were  re-awakened  by  the 
earnestness  of  their  petted  only  son. 
They  would  do  a  great  deal  to  please 
him,  while  he,  in  turn,  wiis  much  at- 
tached to  his  parents,  and  repaid 
their  kindness  by  his  best  aifections. 

Ralph  Sherman  had  brought  in 
two  more  boys  from  the  street,  acd 
he  related  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  found  them. 


A   NEW    ME3II3EK.  143 

Johnny  Capers  had  formed  a  '  Try 
Company,'  of  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  they  were  going  to  try  to  get 
their  uncle  to  sign  the  pledge. 

"He  is  the  very  best  uncle  that 
ever  was,"  said  the  little  fellow,  en- 
thusiastically, "  l)ut  he  is  a  sailor,  a 
ship  captain,  and  you  know  that 
nearly  all  sailors  drink  more  or  less. 
But  he'll  do  almost  anything  for  us 
children,  for  he  loves  us  dearly,  and 
brings  us  lots  of  nice  presents,  and  I 
don't  believe  but  that  we  can  get  him 
to  sign  the  pledge."  And  the  little 
fellow  sat  down  amid  clapping  and 
cheers  that  brought  quite  a  flush  to 
his  face. 

Just  then  in  walked  Mr.  Mai-tin 
leading  a  ragged  little  boy  by  th« 
hand. 

Many   smiling   faces    greeted    hia 


l-:^4 


THE  TEMPERAINCE    BOTS. 


coming,  and  George  Barker  immedi 
ately  advanced  to  show  him  a  seat. 

"  Now  don't  let  me  interrupt  you," 
said  Mr.  Martin. 

"  O  no,  sir !"  was  Jefferson's  reply. 
'*  Some  of  us  have  just  been  telling 
what  we  have  done,  and  what  Wc 
thought  we  could  do,  toward  gettmg 
others  to  sign  the   pledge ;    but   we 


A    NEW    MEMBER.  145 

have   nothing  special  on  hand  now, 
and  are  very  glad  to  see  you." 

"  Well,  then,"  resumed  Mr.  Martin, 
"  you  will  allow  me  to  say  how  very 
glad  I  am  that  you  are  entering  with 
BO  much  spirit  into  the  idea  of  labor 
for  others.  Many  of  the  old  temper- 
ance societies  rested  satisfied  when 
they  were  safe  themselves,  without 
laboring  for  the  individual  good  of 
others.  If  they  had  all  adopted  the 
principle  upon  which  you  have  begun 
to  work,  they  would  have  done  a  vast 
amount  of  good,  and  have  been  in  ex- 
istence at  the  present  time.  As  it  is 
I  am  afraid  some  of  them  died  igno- 
ble deaths;  the  societies  I  mean,  not 
the  members.  Now  here  is  a  little 
lad  that  would  be  a  good  boy  if  he 
only  had  good  company ;  and  I  thought 
if  I  could  get  him  in  as  a  member  of 

10 


146  THE    TEMPERA  N'CE    BOYS. 

your  society,  and  he  should  show  him- 
self worthy,  it  would  be  a  r(!com- 
mendation  to  help  him  get  a  place  as 
errand-boy  in  some  store.  How  is  it, 
Andrew,  would  you  like  to  belong  to 
this  nice  society  of  temperance  boys !" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  think  I  would,"  said 
the  little  fellow,  looking  around 
timidly,  as  if  he  hardly  understood 
what  it  meant. 

.  "  Do  you  ever  drink  beer,  or  gin, 
or  whisky,  or  any  such  thing?"  in- 
quired George.  "  No,  sir,  not  now ; 
I  used  to,  before  my  father  died,  but 
since  I  knew  that  the  drink  killed 
him,  I  have  not  touched  another 
drop." 

"  Poor  little  fellow !"  said  several 
voices,     "  And  is  your  mother  alive  ?" 

"No,  mother  died  a  long  time 
ago." 


A    NEW    MEMBER.  117 

"Did  she  drink  too?"  inquired 
Charlie,  rather  carelessly. 

"My  mother  drink!"  exclaimed 
tlie  boy.     "  Who  said  that  ?" 

"Nobody  said  it,"  replied  Mr.  Mar- 
tin, soothingly;  "but  some  one  want- 
ed to  know  how  your  mother  died." 

"  My  mother  was  a  good  woman," 
said  the  boy,  as  tears  came  into  his 
eyes.  "  It  is  a  long  time  since  she 
died,  so  that  I  do  not  remember  all 
about  it;  but  T  think  may  be  she'd 
have  been  alive  now  if  father  had  used 
her  kindly.  The  drink  has  done  me 
hurt  enough  already.  I  do  not  meau 
it  shall  hurt  me  any  more." 

"  Ilavn't  you  got  any  home  at  all 
now?"  asked  the  warm-hearted  little 
Johnny  Capers. 

"No." 

"  Then  w  here  do  you  sleep  2" 


148  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOFS. 

"  O,  ia  behind  boxes,  down  around 
the  docks,  and  sometimes,  in  warm 
weather,  I  sleep  on  the  carts." 

"  And  how  do  you  get  anything  to 
eat  ?"  inquired  another. 

"  By  selling  papers." 

"  O,  a  newsboy,"  responded  two  or 
three.  "And  how  much  do  yon 
make  a  day  by  selling  papers  V 

"  Not  much,"  was  the  brief  reply. 

Their  sympathies  had  drawn  him 
out;  but  now  that  their  curiosity 
had  showed  itself  he  had  little  tc 
say. 

Mr.  Martin  gently  checked  them, 
and  said  that  he  thought  some  better 
business  might  be  found  for  him  if  he 
were  only  a  little  more  neatly  clad. 
This  he  said,  not  because  he  was  un- 
able or  unwillino;  himself  to  clothe 
him,  but  because  he  wished  to  teach. 


A    NEW   MEMBER.  149 

them  how  to  be  generous  and  benev- 
olent. 

"  I'U  give  him  my  coat,"  said  little 
Johnny  Capers,  beginning  to  pull  it 
off;  "  it  will  just  about  fit  him." 

"Not  quite  so  fest,  my  good  little 
fellow,"  said  Mr.  Martin ;  "  it  would 
not  be  right  to  give  that  without  ask- 
ing your  mother.  But  I'll  tell  you 
what  can  be  done.  You  ai-e  all  of 
you  outgrowing  your  clothing,  moio 
or  less,  and  those  that  have  any  out 
grown  garments  tliat  would  fit  An 
drew,  might  bring  them,  and  we'll  tr}' 
to  give  him  a  start  in  the  world." 

"  Now  you  will  sign  the  pledge  be- 
fore you  go,  won't  you !"  said  Jeff,  who 
always  kept  a  bright  look-out  for  the 
names  and  number  of  members. 

Andi-ew  looked  wistfully  at  Mr. 
Martin. 


150  THE    TEMPERANCE    EOYS. 

''  You'll  have  no  objections  to  tak 
ing  the  pledge  and  becoming  one  of 
the  temperance  boys,  will  you  ?"  in- 
quired that  gentleman. 

''No,  sir,"  was  the  low  reply. 

"Well,  then,"  said  the  secretary, 
"  here  is  a  card  and  pen." 

"01  can't  write,"  said  the  boy, 
drawing  back. 

Sure  enough  !  here  was  a  difficulty. 
Fortunately  Mr.  Martin  could  decide 
it.  He  took  the  card,  read  it  over  cart- 
fully,  explained  it  to  the  boy,  and  then 
asked  him  if  he  would  promise  that. 

"  Yes,  sir,  indeed,  twice  over,"  was 
the  eager  reply. 

"  Well,  then,  shall  I  put  your  name 
to  it  ?" 

"  If  you  please,  sir." 

"  Very  well ;  now  put  two  little 
mai'ks  like  this  in  the  middle." 


A    NEW    SIEM13ER.  151 

He  did  so  and  there  it  stood : 
Andrew  x  Piielan. 

niark. 

The  boys  crowded  around  to  look 
at  it.  They  had  learned  something 
new ;  how  a  person  that  cannot  write 
can  sign  his  name. 

"It's  too  bad  !"  said  Charlie ;  "can't 
you  come  to  our  school  and  leai-n  to 
wTite  ?" 

"Not  if  he  is  going  into  a  store, 
my  son,"  replied  Mr.  Mai-tin. 

"  He  could  attend  evening  school, 
couldn't  he,  father  ?" 

"  Perha})s  so  ;  but  we  can  tell  bet- 
ter when  he  gets  into  his  new 
place." 

It  was  then  arranc^ed  that  Andrew 
should  be  there  by  eight  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  and  those  who  could 
bring  any  clothing   fur  him  shouhl 


152  THE   TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

be  tliere  at  the  same  time.  Mr. 
Martin  then  took  Andrew  away, 
and  the  meeting  soon  closed,  for  it 
was  nearly  dark. 


JOHNNY    CAPERS.  lo.j 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JOHNNY    CAPERS    AND    HIS    DNCLE. 

"  Is  Uncle  John  at  home  ?"  shouted 
attle  Johnny  Capers,  as  he  burst  into 
the  sitting-room  that  evening. 

"Yes,  Uncle  John  is  in  the  libra- 
ry," replied  his  sisters,  as  they  ran  on 
with  him,  wondering  what  strange 
thing  he  had  to  tell  in  such  a  hui-ry. 

"  Ahoy  there,  my  little  skipper !" 
was  Uncle  John's  greeting ;  and  ahoy 
he  came  right  into  the  old  man's 
arms,  without  waiting  to  return  the 
salute. 

"Say,  Uncle  John,"  said  the  little 
boy,  struggling  to  relieve  himself 
fi'om  the  frolicsome   caresses  of  his 


154 


THE   TEMPEEANCE   BOYS. 


elderly  namesake ;  "  say,  Uncle  John, 
I  want  to  tell  you  something." 


rF,  .^>    ^^■^■:*^' 


"  Well,  then,  say  on,  make  all  sail !" 
said  the  uncle,  holding  t\e  boy  at 
arm's  length. 

"Now,  Uncle  John,  now  you  know 
we  have  a  temperance  society,  don't 
you?" 

"  Which  way  are  you  steering, 
middv?" 


JOHNNY    CAPERS.  lij^ 

"  Now  do  be  still,  uncle,  and  let 
me  tell  you  what  I  want  to.  We  just 
had  a  meeting  this  afternoon,  and 
Mr.  Martin  brought  a  boy  in  there,  a 
newsboy,  and  he  was  ragged  and 
dirty,  and  don't  you  believe  he  had 
no  father,  and  no  mother ;  they  were 
both  dead." 

"  Well,  that  is  likely ;  but  I  don't 
see  as  that  is  worth  getting  up  sucli 
a  tempest  about.  I  suppose  there 
are  a  great  many  or2:>hans  in  the 
city." 

"Yes,  but  his  father  died  of  drink, 
and  his  mother  too.  No,  his  mother 
did  not  drink ;  but  his  father  abused 
her  when  he  was  drunk,  so  that  bhe 
(3  led  a  long  time  ago." 

"  The  brute  !  he  did  not  deserve  a 
wife.  But  what  are  you  going  to  do 
with  the  boy  in  your  society  ?" 


156  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

"We  are  going  to  dress  him  up, 
and  Mr.  Martin  will  get  him  a  place 
as  errand  boy,  and  then  he  can  go  to 
night-school." 

Then  followed  a  discussion  of  the 
best  means  of  fitting  him  up.  Mrs. 
Capers  was  appealed  to,  and  ere  long 
an  entire  suit  of  Johnny's  cast-off 
clothes  was  bundled  up,  and  Uncle 
John  furnished  money  to  buy  the  boy 
a  pair  of  shoes.  It  was  with  joyful 
hearts  they  gathered  around  the  tea- 
table  that  evening,  though  no  father's 
voice  was  there  to  offer  the  expres- 
sions of  their  gratitude  to  the  great 
Giver  of  all  their  blessings. 

Johnny's  father  had  died  some 
years  before  the  commencement  of 
my  story,  leaving  Mi's.  Capers  with 
five  children,  of  whom  Johnny  was 
the  third.     A  small  property  and  a 


JOHNNY    CAPERS.  157 

■jvell-settled  state  of  affairs,  left  the 
kind  mother  an  abundance  of  time  to 
devote  to  the  improvement  of  her 
children,  to  which  she  devoted  her- 
self with  gi'eat  judgment  and  assidu- 
ity. And  if  there  were  times  when 
sorrow  for  the  departed  cast  a  shade 
of  sadness  over  her  pensive  features, 
and  reflected  too  much  gloom  over  the 
spirits  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
household,  so  again  there  were  other 
occasions  when  their  young  hearts 
would  give  way  to  an  almost  boister- 
ous gayety;  and  that  was  when  Un- 
cle John  came  home. 

Uncle  John  had  been  for  years  the 
master  of  a  merchantman,  trading  be- 
tween the  Mediterranean  and  New 
York,  and  at  the  close  of  his  three- 
n\onth  cruises  he  always  found  a 
hearty    welcome    beneath    the    roof 


158  THE   TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

of  his  younger  brother,  Mr.  Harvey 
Capers,  the  father  of  Johnny. 

Since  the  death  of  this  brother,  the 
captain's  kindest  sympathies  were  en- 
listed for  the  welfare  of  the  bereaved 
family,  and  his  visits  were  like  sun- 
beams to  the  house,  more  welcome 
than  ever. 

The  children  would  count  the  days 
long  before  his  expected  coming,  and 
the  week  or  ten  days'  rest  was  always 
too  short;  but  when,  on  the  occasion 
of  this  visit,  they  learned  that  the 
ship  would  be  hauled  up  six  weeks 
for  repairs,  their  delight  knew  no 
l)0unds. 

After  the  supper,  at  which  we  left 
them,  Johnny  became  very  thoughtr 
ful  and  silent. 

"  What  is  the  matter  now,  little 
skipper  ?"  inquired  Uncle  John. 


JOHNNY    CAPERS.  159 

"  O  nothing,  uncle,  only  I  was 
fchinkinGT  how  much  mischief  the 
drink  does." 

"Yes,  yes,  mischief  enough,  like 
any  other  good  thing  that  is  abused." 

"  But  really,  uncle,  don't  you  think 
it  the  best  way  to  let  it  quite  alone  ?" 

"  May  be,  child,  may  be,  but  for  an 
old  salt,  like  me,  it  would  be  hard 
work  to  give  it  up,  and  of  no  kind  of 
use  either.  Why  what  should  I  do 
when  I  am  out  tlie  whole  night  in  a 
storm,  and  get  wet  twenty  times  from 
head  to  foot.  Rather  stiff  work  it 
would  be  without  a  glass  of  whisky 
punch  to  warm  uj)  by.  I  understand 
what  you  want,  child ;  but  it  is  of  no 
use  to  tease  me  to  sign  the  j^ledge,  I 
cr  n't  give  up  an  innocejit  glass  at  this 
*"■  ae  of  life." 

Johnny    was     disappointed.      He 


160  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

intended  to  make  this  the  occasion  of 
a  strong  appeal  to  the  good-natured 
captain,  to  sign  the  pledge,  and  he  felt 
almost  sure  he  would  do  it,  for  he 
always  did  everything  that  the  chil- 
dren asked  him  to.  But  this  time 
Johnny  had  failed.  He  had  not  said 
half  what  he  wanted  to ;  he  had  met 
with  a  decided  rebuff,  with  no  chance 
to  say  anything  more. 

So  we  shall  all  find  discourao^e- 
raents  in  the  way  of  doing  good.  But 
we  must  not  let  these  prevent  our 
trying  to  do  what  we  can,  though  we 
may  wait,  as  little  Johnny  Capers  did, 
for  a  more  favorable  moment  to  carry 
cut  our  plans. 

The  next  morning  Johnny  was  at 
Temperance  Hall  in  good  season, 
where  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing his  new  friend,  Andrew,  fitted  out, 


JOHNNY    CAPERS,  KU 

from  liead  to  foot,  with  his  otvn  out- 
grown clothing.  But  he  was  not 
alone  in  the  good  work.  Others  of 
the  temperance  boys  had  brought 
clothing,  and  though  it  would  not  all 
fit  him,  they  made  up  another  outside 
«uit  for  him,  besides  plenty  of  under 
clothing. 

There  was  quite  a  bundle  of  cloth- 
ing left,  and  several  pairs  of  half- worn 
shoes  that  were  too  small  for  him. 
Jeff  and  Kalph,  after  trying  in  vain  to 
decide  what  to  do  with  them,  ap- 
pealed to  George  Barker,  who  advised 
to  stow  them  away,  for  the  present,  in 
an  empty  closet  that  opened  out  of  the 
room.  "  It  may  be,"  said  he,  "  that 
we  shall  want  them  for  some  one 
else." 

"  And  now  you  have  two  suits  of 

clothes,  such  as  they  are,"  said  John- 
It 


162  THE   TEMPEEANOE    BOSS. 

ny,  "  one  for  Sundaj^s  and  one  for 
week-days ;  now  you  will  come  to 
our  Sunday  school,  won't  you  V 

"Yes,  if  Mr.  Martin  is  willing," 
replied  the  boy. 

"Of  course  he  will  be  willing,  for 
Charlie  and  Eddie  both  go  to  the 
same  school  that  I  do.  At  any  rate, 
we  shall  look  for  you."  he  added,  and 
off  they  all  ran  to  be  in  time  for 
school.  Andrew  went  down  to  Mr. 
Martin's  office,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  day  he  found  himself  in  his  new 
place,  in  a  temperance  grocery  store, 
where  he  was  to  carry  packages  of 
tea,  coffee,  flour,  sugar,  and  so  forth, 
to  the  customers.  This  was  active 
work,  and  suited  him  very  well, 
though  at  first  he  only  got  wages 
enough  to  pay  for  his  board  at  the 
house  of  a  poor  widow,  where  Mr. 


JOHNNY    CAPERS  163 

Martin  sent  him.  But  this  wsxs  vast- 
ly better  than  selling  papers  for  a 
Jivinof. 

Then,  too,  he  was  soon  introduced 
into  the  evening  school,  and  the  Sun- 
day school,  where  he  won  the  good- 
will of  all  by  his  readiness  to  improve. 
Though  he  seldom  had  time  to  visit 
the  meetings  at  the  Temperance  Hall, 
yet  his  young  temperance  friends 
often  inquired  after  him,  and  were 
pleased  to  find  him  doing  so  well ;  and, 
indeed,  he  had  the  company  of  some 
of  them  in  the  evening  schooL 


164  THE   TEMPERANCE  JK)Y8 


CHAPTER  V. 

AN    INTEMPERATE    FAMILY. 

For  more  than  a  week  after  thig 
last  talk  on  temperance,  Johnny  had 
been  thoughtful  and  needlessly  shy 
of  his  uncle,  for  he  feared  he  had 
offended  him.  But  one  afternoon  he 
received  a  very  cordial  greeting  from 
him. 

"  Come  here,  Johnny,"  said  he,  "  I 
have  seen  something  to-day  that  will 
interest  you." 

Johnny  soon  resumed  his  old  seat 
on  his  uncle's  knee,  though  it  must  be 
confessed  he  was  a  pretty  big  boy  foi 
that,  and  waited  to  hear  what  it  was. 

"Well,  my  lad,  I  have  seen  a  case 


AN    INl'EMPEEATE   FAMILY.       1(55 

to-day  that  was  worse  tbau  An- 
drew's." 

"Worse  !  uncle,  bow  can  that  be?" 

"Why,  very  easy.  It  would  bo 
worse  to  have  bad  parents  than  none 
at  all,  would'nt  it  ?" 

Johnny  assented,  and  his  uncle 
went  on. 

"T  was  passing  through  Chatham- 
street  this  morning,  and  I  saw  two 
little  girls  sitting  on  a  door-step, 
crying  as  if  their  little  hearts  would 
break.  As  I  laid  to,  with  my  eye  on 
them,  the  biggest  one  ])ut  out  lier 
hand  for  a  penny,  '  Why,  my  poor 
children,'  said  I,  '  what  are  you  doing 
here  ?  you  will  certainly  freeze.  Now 
just  put  helm  about,  and  make  all  sail 
for  home.' 

"But  she  never  moved,  and  only 
cried    the   harder.      '  Come,'   said    I 


166  THE    l-EMPERANCE    B0Y8 

'there  is  your  penny;  now  run  home.' 
But  it  was  of  no  use.  So,  after  long 
coaxing,  I  got  her  to  tell  me  what 
was  the  matter.  Her  mother  would 
whip  her  if  she  came  home  without  a 
shilling. 

"  '  And  w^hat  does  she  want  of  the 
shilling  V 

" '  O  sir,  she  wants  it  to  get  some 
whisky.' 

" '  And  who  does  she  want  tlie  whis- 
ky for?' 

"  '  For  herself,  sure.' 

" '  Does  she  drink  whisky  V 

"'That  indeed  she  does.  She'a 
drunk  near  about  all  the  time.' 

" '  And  your  father  ?' 

"'Father's  been  gone  these  three 
days,  and  I  don't  know  where  he  is.' 

"  It  was  a  Ions:  time  before  I  could 
get  her  to  tell  me  where  they  lived. 


AN    INTEMPERATE    FAMILY 


107 


but,  finally,  the  gift  of  the  much-de- 
sired shilling  persuaded  her,  and  they 
ran  on  before  to  show  me  the  place 


It  was  a  dirty,  damp  btisement,  woi-se 
than  a  ship's  hold  after  a  year's 
voyage. 

"  I  crept  down  the  gangway  after  the 
children,  and  there  was  a  woman  and 


168  THE   TEMPERANCE    BOYS 

a  babe  stowed  away  on  some  sti  aw 
in  one  corner,  and  she  began  to  storm 
away  at  the  girls ;  but  when  she  saw 
me  she  stopped. 

"  '  See,  mammy,'  said  one,  '  the  gen- 
tleman gave  me  a  shilling.' 

"The  woman  took  it;  but  she  did 
not  look  pleased. 

" '  And  what  does  he  want  himself?' 
she  said  at  last. 

" '  I  felt  so  sorry  for  your  little  girls 
that  I  came  home  with  them,  to  see 
if  they  could  not  be  made  a  little 
more  comfortable.' 

"  'And  ye  can  do  as  much  for  them 
as  ye  like ;  for  I'm  sure  there  is 
enough  to  be  done,'  was  the  moody 
I'eply. 

"'Have  you  nothing  warmer  for 
them  to  wear  about  their  shoulders, 
I  inquired. 


AN    INTEMPERATE    FAMILY.       1G9 

"  But,  O,  how  she  did  abuse  me  for 
daring  to  ask  such  a  question ! 

"  Finally,  when  I  had  pacified  her,  I 
asked  if  these  were  all  the  children 
she  had.  No,  there  were  two  more 
boys  somewhere  in  the  street. 

"And  the  lather? 

"  He'd  taken  a  drop  too  much,  and 
been  a  bit  noisy  and  troublesome  to 
the  police,  and  they  had  shut  him  up 
for  it.     She  thouorht  it  was  too  bad 

o 

if  a  poor  man  could  not  take  a  bit 
of  comfort  without  beins:  sent  to 
the  Island  for  it,  and  I  think  so 
too. 

"  The  children  were  hungry,  and  she 
declared  she  had  no  bread  for  them, 
and  no  money  to  get  any.  I  remind- 
ed her  of  the  shilling  I  had  given  the 
child,  but  she  said  she  wanted  that  to 
get  some  medicine  with  for  the  baby. 


170  TTTE  TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

and  the  poor  thing  did  look  as  if  it 
was  sick.  So  when  I  went  away  1 
sent  her  some  coal,  and  bread,  and 
groceries  V 

"  O  uncle,  can't  I  go  with  you  the 
next  time  you  go  to  see  them  ?  Do 
let  me,"  urged  Johnny. 

"  Why  yes,  I  suppose  you  can  if 
you  want  to,"  was  the  reply. 

"  And  can't  we  go  now,  uncle  ?  I'd 
like  to  go  now." 

"Why,  what's  in  the  wind  now, 
that  you're  in  such  a  hurry  to  get 
your  sails  up  ?" 

O,  I'd  like  to  see  them,"  replied 
Johnny,  getting  his  uncle's  hat  for 
him.  In  truth,  Johnny  wanted  to  try 
to  get  some  of  them  to  sign  the  pledge, 
but  he  was  not  very  sure  that  he 
could  do  it. 

Johnny  and  his  uncle  were  so^*<i  od 


AN    INTEMPERATE    FAMILY.        171 

their  way  to  the  drunkard's  hoiLse, 
accompanied  by  Ralph  Sherman,  in 
whose  powers  of  persuasion  Johnny 
placed  much  confidence,  and  who 
happened  to  come  along  just  as  they 
started. 

"  O !  there  is  the  kind  gentleman, 
sure !"  was  their  greeting  as  they 
clambered  down  the  rotten  steps 
"  The  houly  Virgin  bless  ye !"  said  the 
woman.    "  All  the  saints  purtect  ye !" 

"  Tut,  away  with  your  nonsense  !" 
said  the  captain.  "What  less  could 
any  one  do  when  a  body  was  suffer- 
ing in  that  way?" 

"Indade  and  there's  many  a  one 
that  don't  do  it  then.  There's  none 
that's  so  kind  as  yei'self,  sir,  with  al] 
the  nice  praties  ye  sent  us." 

The  sailor  cut  her  short  this  time, 
by   tui'niiig   to   the   little  girl,   who 


172  THE   TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

stood  looking  at  him  with  opeu 
mouth,  and  asking  about  her  father, 

"  He  hasn't  been  home  yet ;"  and 
she  began  to  snivel  and  put  her 
fingers  in  her  eyes. 

While  the  captain  was  talking  to 
the  child,  Johnny  summoned  all  his 
courage,  and  went  up  to  the  woman, 
saying  that  he  had  come  with  his 
uncle  to  see  if  she  would  not  take  the 
pledge. 

"  Och  yes  !"  said  she ;  "  I'll  be  after 
taking  anything  he'll  send  me.  It 
was  a  nice  lot  of  stuff  he  sent  me 
this  morning." 

"Yes;  but  we  want  you  to  prom- 
ise that  you  won't  drink  any  more 
whisky." 

"  O  yes,  and  as  many  times  as  you 
please  !" 

"  Well,    then,   you    will    have    no 


AN    INTE>/PERATE    VAMU.Y.       173 

objections  to  putting  your  name  to 
that  promise,"  said  he,  reaching  it  out 
to  her. 

But  the  woman  would  not  sign  the 
pledge.  She  would  put  her  name  to 
no  paper.  She  knew  nothing  about 
papers,  she  said,  and  did  they  want 
to  take  her  to  court  ? 

By  this  time  Uncle  John's  atten- 
tion was  attracted,  and  he  had  to 
join  in  trying  to  pacify  her  with  the 
assurance  that  it  was  only  a  promise 
not  to  drink  any  more. 

"And  sure,"  she  said,  "ye  have  my 
word  for  it,  and  that's  enough.  But 
come  to-morrow,  and  the  old  man 
will  be  home,  I'm  thinking.  They 
only  sent  him  up  for  three  days;  and 
he  knows  all  about  papers  and  the 
like,  for  he  has  a  deal  of  book 
larnin'." 


174  THE   TEMPEEANCE    BOYS. 

"Well,  come,  boys,"  said  the  cap- 
tarn  ;  "  I  do  not  see  any  nse  in  teasing 
her  about  that  f  and  so  they  all  left. 

Johnny  was  disappointed,  but  he 
did  not  despair.  He  would  try 
again  when  he  got  a  chance  to  see 
the  old  man,  as  Mrs.  Maloney  called 
her  husband. 

As  for  Ralph  he  had  not  been 
using  his  eyes  in  vain.  While  he 
was  looking  at  the  ragged,  bare- 
footed children  he  thought  of  the 
shoes  and  garments  that  were  left  in 
the  closet  after  fitting  up  Andrew 
Phelan ;  and  when  they  were  out  he 
at  once  proposed  to  Johnny  to  get 
them  for  these  children. 

At  this  suggestion  Johnny  capered 
about  in  great  glee.  He  declared 
that  it  was  just  the  thing ;  but  they 
ought  to   ask  the  other  boys:   that 


AN    INTEMPERATE    fAlIILY.       175 

they  could  do  to-morrow.  It  was 
VQvy  lucky  that  the  society  met  to- 
morrow. And  so  the  matter  was 
settled. 

You  may  well  believe  that  Johnny 
Capers  had  a  very  interesting  story 
to  tell  at  the  Temperance  Hall  the 
next  day.  To  hear  him  talk  you 
would  have  supposed  that  all  that 
was  wanting  to  raise  that  family 
from  misery  to  happiness  was  for  the 
father  to  come  home,  and  sign  the 
pledge.  O  yes  !  there  was  one  other 
item,  but  his  friend  Ralph  would 
speak  of  that. 

So  Kalph  made  a  motion  that  their 
bundle  of  shoes  and  clothing  be  given 
to  this  poor  fiimily. 

This  met  with  ready  approval,  and 
Johnny  and  Ralph  carried  off  the 
bundle  in  triumph. 


176  THE   TEMPERANCE    B(.)y8. 


There  was  a  great  scrambling 
among  the  little  Maloneys  when  the 
shoes  were  opened  before  them.  One 
little  fellow  seemed  to  think  himself 
made  for  life  when  he  had  put  on  one 
big  shoe  and  one  little  one,  and  stood 
up  in  them.  The  clothing  seemed  to 
be  mostly  of  suitable  size  for  the  two 
boys;  but  the  mother  cunningly  de- 
clined to  try  it  on  till  the  visitors  nad 


AX    IM'EMPERATE    FAMILif.       177 

gone,  for  slie  feared  they  would  lake 
away  what  might  not  pi'ove  suitable. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  room  sat 
the  father,  smoking  his  pipe  with  the 
greatest  indifference.  But,  in  spite  of 
his  morose  looks,  Johnny  ventured  up 
to  him,  saying :  "  Ple^ise,  sir,  will  you 
sign  the  temperance  pledge  ?" 

''What's  that?"  said  the  man, 
gruffly. 

"It  is  the  pledge,  sir;  and  we  are 
temperance  boys,  and  go  around  try- 
ing to  get  people  to  sign  it;  and 
sometimes  it  does  them  a  great  deal 
of  good." 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  the  woman ; 
"  didn't  I  tell  you  that  yesterday 
they  wanted  me  to  put  my  name  to 
it ;  and  I  told  them  to  come  to-day, 
when  ye'd  be  at  home,  foi-  I  had  no 
larnin'  to  meddle  with  such  things  " 

13 


178  TITE   TE.^IPERANCE    BOYS. 

The  man  took  the  paper  in  his 
hand,  arjd,  looking  over  it,  said : 
"Snre,  this  is  the  same  thing  they 
had  in  the  ould  country  once,  with 
Father  Matthew.  And  it  is  just  a 
promise  not  to  drink  any  more, 
eh  ?" 

"  Yes,  that  is  it,"  cried  Johnny,  de- 
lighted at  his  ready  understanding  of 
the  matter ;  and  you'll  sign  it,  won't 
you  ?" 

"  And  what  good  would  it  be  if  1 
should  ?  Here's  all  the  folks  in  rags, 
and  nothing  to  eat,  and  I've  no  work. 
I  don't  see  as  it's  any  good  to  try  to 
do  anything,  for  it's  the  same  thing 
over  and  over  again,  and  there's  no 
work  to  be  had  for  a  poor  man  f' 
and  so  he  went  on  with  a  senseless 
string  about  the  poor  that  could  not 
get  any  work ;  just  as  if  he  wanted 


AN    INTEMPERATE    FAMILY.       179 

work,  or  would  do  it  if  he  had  it 
to  do. 

"Yes,"  replied  Johnny;  "but  we'll 
help  you.  We'll  get  clothing  and 
food  for  you ;  and  then  my  Uncle 
John  will  get  work  for  you,  if  he 
can,  so  that  you  can  help  yourself." 

"O,  I'll  sign  it,  sure,  if  you  are  so 
good  as  all  that ;  but  when'll  you  do 
these  fine  things  that  you're  a  prom- 
Isin'?" 

"Do  them?"  said  Ralph:  "right 
away.  We've  begun  now,"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  shoes  and  the  clothing. 

The  man  rather  moodily  stretched 
out  his  hand  for  the  pencil,  and 
scrawled  his  name ;  and,  after  a  little 
urging,  the  woman's  name  was  added 
too. 

In  the  coui*se  of  a  day  or  two  Misa 
Amelia  Martin,  Charlie's  sister,  hear 


180         THE  TEilPERANCE  BOYS. 

ing,  througli  her  little  brothers,  of  the 
destitute  condition  of  the  family,  and 
that  they  had  signed  the  pledge,  in- 
terested herself  in  dressing  up  the 
mother  and  the  girls  till  they  a]»- 
peared  quite  neat. 


OEOEGE   BARKER'S    SCHOLAR.     181 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GEORGE   BARKER'S   SUNDAY   SCHOLAB. 

George  Barker  was  a  teacher  iu 
the  Sunday  school.  Having  a  fine 
voice  and  good  natural  taste  for  mu- 
sic, he  led  the  singing  of  the  infant 
class.  He  was  too  young  to  be  the 
first  teacher,  but  as  second  teacher 
his  kindness  won  the  hearts  of  all  the 
little  ones,  and  at  no  time  would 
they  sing  with  so  much  life  and 
animation  as  when  George  Barkei* 
led  them. 

There  was  one  bi'ight  but  poorly- 
dressed  little  girl  in  the  class  that 
often  attracted  his  attention.  She 
Biiug  well,  and  seemed  to  take  great 


182  THE    l-EMPERANCE    BOYS. 

delight  in  it.  But  wlien  they  were 
not  singing  she  was  full  of  mischief, 
seemed  never  able  to  sit  still,  and 
annoyed  her  teachers  and  her  class- 
mates in  many  ways. 

The  infant-class  teachers  hardly 
knew  what  to  do  with  her,  till  it  was 
proposed  to  have  her  put  into  the 
larger  school,  in  a  small  class,  under 
a  teacher.  The  next  question  was. 
whether  she  could  read.  George 
volunteei-ed  to  talk  with  her.  That 
was  just  the  thing.  She  seemed  at 
once  elevated  with  an  idea  of  self- 
respect,  to  think  that  the  teacher 
should  specially  notice  her.  She  was 
so  much  lari2:er  than  most  of  the  other 
scholars  that  George  felt  sure  that 
she  could  read.  But  a  little  talk 
settled  the  matter;  and  she  seemed 
to  be  so  grieved  to  acknowledge  hei 


GEORGE    BARKER'S    SCHOLAR.     183 

ignorance  that  he  was  sorry  for  hav- 
ing asked  her. 

"Don't  you  go  to  school  through 
the  week?"  inquired  George. 

"  No ;  mother  wants  me  at  home, 
to  take  care  of  the  baby ;  and  besides, 
mother  says  she  cannot  get  clothes 
for  me  to  wear.  A  lady  gave  me 
these  clothes  I  have  on,  just  to  wear 
to  Sunday  school." 

George  assured  her  they  were  glad 
to  see  her  there,  praised  her  good 
attention  to  the  lessons  as  much  as  he 
could,  told  her  that  she  would  make 
a  good  singer  if  she  tried  faithfully, 
and  he  hoped  she  would  grow  up  to 
make  a  good  and  respectable  woman. 
There  might  yet  be  an  opportunity  for 
her  to  learn  to  read,  if  she  showed 
herself  a  good  girl ;  and  so,  with  kind 
woi'ds,  he  sent  her  back  to  her  seat. 


184  THE    TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

From  this  time  lier  behavior  waa 
greatly  changed.  She  was  so  quiet, 
obedient,  and  careful  as  to  gain  a  deep 
interest  in  the  hearts  of  her  teachers. 
She  made  rapid  progress  in  singing, 
and  learned  the  hymns  very  quickly, 
because  she  paid  such  good  attention 

After  a  while  George  found  a  lady 
among  his  friends  whom  he  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  the  little  girl,  and 
who  promised  to  take  a  personal  in- 
terest in  teaching  her  to  read. 

The  next  Sunday  morning  the  lady 
was  at  the  school  to  see  little  Annie ; 
but  the  child  was  not  there.  Another 
Sunday  passed  without  her  making 
lier  appearance,  and  then  George  went 
to  call  on  her,  to  find  out  what  wag 
the  matter.  But  he  found  that  th<? 
family  had  removed,  and  no  one  knew 
where  they  had  gone. 


GEOIIGE  barker's  SCHOLAR.     185 

"A  good  i-uldaiice  it  was,  too,"  a 
neighbor  said,  "  for  the  niaii  was  lazy 
and  drunken,  and  the  woman  was  not 
much  better,  though  she  did  not 
drink ;  and  the  children  were  dreadful 
impudent  and  always  in  the  way." 

"  Were  the  children  all  bad  ?" 
inquired  George. 

"  Yes,  all  but  the  little  girl,  and  she 
had  become  quite  decent  lately,  though 
I  think  that  came  from  going  to  Sun- 
day school." 

GeoT'ge  turned  away  sorrowfully. 
It  was  evident  that  the  girl  was  im- 
proving, and  he  regretted  that  all  his 
good  efforts  should  be  wasted  so  soon ; 
and  the  poor  child,  that  wanted  to  be 
good,  lost,  perhaps,  forever. 

The  next  Sabbath  morning,  as  he 
3ame  out  of  the  infant-class  room,  he 
met  a  ragged,  filthy  looking  man,  who 


ISG  THE    TEMPERAlSrCE    BOYS. 

came  eagerly  toward  him,  and  inquired 
if  he  was  Annie  Dean's  teacher. 
George  replied  that  he  was  one  of  her 
teachers,  and  then  inquired  where  she 
was.  "  Well,"  said  the  man,  "  are  yon 
the  one  that  sings  ?  She  wants  the  one 
that  sings  so  good  ;"  and  then  George 
learned  that  his  interesting  little 
scholar  was  sick,  that  she  would  pro- 
bably die,  and  was  very  anxious  to 
see  him.  He  immediately  started  to 
visit  her,  feeling  very  solemn,  and  not 
much  disposed  to  talk  with  the  un- 
worthy father,  who  went  on  with 
different  subjects,  evidently  not  quite 
sober. 

At  last  they  came  to  the  mean 
nbode,  away  up  sev  iral  rickety  flights 
of  stairs,  and  there  he  found  the  sick 
Sunday  scholar  in  the  last  stages  of 
disease.     Her  large  dark  eye  kindled 


GEORGE  BARKERS  SCHOLAR.     18^ 

with  pleasure  as  it  fell  upon  him,  and 
she  reached  out  her  thin  hand  eagerly. 

"  O  teacher,"  she  said,  "  I  was  afraid 
father  would  not  go  for  you.  I  am 
80  glad  you  are  C(jme.  I  wanted  to 
see  you  once  more." 

"  Once  more,"  said  George,  "  1  hope 
we  shall  see  you  at  Sunday  school 
many  times  more  yet,"  for  he  did  not 
know  how  sick  she  was. 

"No,"  she  replied  solemnly,  "not 
here ;  but  I  am  going  to  that  Sunday 
school  in  heaven  that  you  used  to  tell 
us  about.  Perhaps  I  shall  see  you 
there." 

"  And  how  do  you  know,  my  child, 
that   you   will   go  there  ?" 

"0  1  know  it.  I  feel  it.  Some- 
thing in  here  tells  me  so.  Two 
weeks  ago  I  was  feeling  very  bad 
because  I  had  been  so  naughty,  and  I 


188  THE    TEMPERANCE    BCY3. 

was  afraid  I'd  die  and  go  to  hell.  1 
didn't  know  what  to  do,  and  I  tried 
to  think  of  the  verses  that  they  used 
to  teach  us  out  of  God's  book ;  but  I 
could'nt  think  of  one  of  them.  And 
then  I  thought  it  would  be  just  right 
for  me  to  be  lost,  because  I  would  not 
learn  those  good  verses  when  you 
tried  to  teach  us.  and  I  was  so  sure, 
all  the  while,  that  just  one  little  verse 
would  tell  me  what  to  do  and  save 
me.  But  I  couldn't  think  of  any. 
By  and  by  I  thought  of  that  hymn, 

'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul;' 

and  then  I  remembered  that  it  was 
Jesus  I  was  to  go  to;  and  then  all  at 
once  I  thought  of  that  beautiful  verse, 
*  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest.'    And  then  pretty  soon  I  thought 


GEORGE  BARKER'S  SCHOLAR.      189 

of  another :  '  Him  that  cometh  to  me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.'  Then  all 
my  bad  feelings  went  right  away,  and 
I  knew  that  I  should  go  to  Jesus 
Ever  since  that  I  have  been  trying  to 
sing 

'I  want  to  be  an  angel,' 

but  I  can't  sing  it  much,  I'm  so  tired 
all  the  while,"  and  she  sunk  back  on 
her  pillow.  Indeed  she  had  been 
obliged  to  stop  and  rest  several  times 
while  talking.  And  soon  she  said, 
"  Teacher,  I  thought  if  you  could  only 
come  and  sing  it  for  me." 

Pausins:  a  moment  to  command  his 
feelings,  he  sung,  and  the  dying  child 
hung  on  his  words  as  if  they  had  been 
indeed  the  accents  of  Heaven.  It  was 
a  strange  scene,  that  degraded,  ragged 
ftimily  gathered  around  the  dying  bed 
of  little  Annie,  and  the  young  Sunday- 


100  THE    TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 


school  teacher  singing  the  hymn  that 
told  of  her  high  hopes  for  another 
world.     Then  he  sang, 

"Jesus,  lover  of  niy  soul," 

and  one  or  two  other  hymns,  until 
even  Annie  herself  seemed  satisfied. 
Bidding  her  a  tender  good-by,  he  left 
with  a  promise  to  call  again  the  next 
day. 

Going  immediately  to  the  lady  who 


GEORGE    BARKER'S    SCHOLAR.     191 

nad  previously  offered  to  provide  her 
with  the  means  of  learning  to  read,  he 
told  the  circumstances  to  her,  and 
the  worthy  woman  soon  visited  the 
scene  of  suffering,  with  many  little 
comforts  and  kind  words  that  greatly 
soothed  the  dying  hours  of  the  little 
Christian. 

She  w^as  very  anxious  about  the 
family,  especially  her  ftither,  and  be- 
sought him  with  tears  to  become  a 
sober  man. 

O  fiither  !"  said  she,  "  if  you 
would  only  let  the  rum  alone,  and 
bring  home  your  wages  to  mother, 
she  would  take  heart  again,  and  take 
better  care  of  the  baby.  And  may  be 
too  she  could  keep  Joe  and  Tommy 
out  of  the  street,  where  they  are  learn- 
ing so  much  swearing  and  fighting  all 
*he  time    and   send  •'"hem  to  school. 


192  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

Say,  father,  only  say  you  will  lea^e 
the  drink !" 

It  was  a  broken  promise  the  poor 
man  gave ;  but  the  child  was  com  ■ 
forted. 

When  George  called  again  his  little 
scholar  was  almost  gone.  She  could 
say  only  a  few  words  about  her 
brothers.  She  wanted  them  to  go  to 
Sunday  school.  Then,  turning  her 
eyes  upward,  she  said :  "  O  teacher  ! 
I  shall  soon  be  with  the  angels,  1 
am  going  to  Jesus." 

That  night  she  died.  Through  the 
kindness  of  the  lady  friend  they  had 
A  decent  funeral,  after  which  George 
returned  to  the  house  with  the  par- 
ents. The  poor  father  was  quite 
broken  down;  for  in  his  sober  mo- 
ments he  had  loved  his  little  Annie, 
his  oldest  child,  with  tender  affection 


GEOEOE   barker's    SCHOLAR.     193 

"  1.  promised  my  poor  Annie,"  said 
he,  "  that  I'd  let  the  drink  alone,  and, 
by  the  help  of  God,  I'll  do  it.  I  want 
yon,  sir,  to  write  me  off  a  pledge,  and 
I'll  sign  it  before  God,  and  my  poor 
abused  wife,  and  yourself." 

It  was  soon  done,  and  the  man, 
folding  it  up  carefully,  put  it  away  in 
his  Bible,  saying:  "There,  when  I 
read  my  Bi])le  I'll  turn  and  read 
that,  and,  God  helping  me,  I'll  keep 
it." 

By  the  kindness  of  friends,  who 
ha^l  become  interested  in  the  story 
of  little  Annie,  employment  was  ob- 
tained for  him,  courage  came  back  to 
the  disheartened  wife,  and  plenty 
once  more  smiled  upon  them,  as  it 
had  in  the  early  days  of  their  mar- 
ried life. 

13 


104  ITIE   TEMPEEANCE    BOITL 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

UNCLE   JOHlSr    COJnnERTED. 

JonNET  Capers  had  tried  some 
time  to  get  his  uncle  to  sign  the 
pledge,  but  he  was  nearly  discouraged 
with  his  lack  of  success.  The  good- 
natured  sailor  avoided  all  conversa- 
tion on  the  topic.  When  on  shore, 
and  especially  when  enjoying  the 
hospitality  of  his  sister-in-law,  he  very 
seldom  indulged  in  strong  drink  of 
any  kind.  ladeed  he  rarely  used  it 
ut  any  time  to  such  an  excess  as  to 
show  much  of  its  effects.  He  was  of 
a  temperament  not  easily  affected  in 
this  way.  But  at  this  time,  as  hia 
visit  was  much  longer  than  usual,  he 


imCLE    JOim    CONVERTED.        195 

found  it  difficult  to  abstain  entirely. 
He  did  so,  however,  until  one  even- 
ing, a  few  days  after  the  fitting  up  of 
the  Maloney  femily.  Happening  to 
call  on  another  ship-master  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, he  found  him  just  going 
out  to  some  public  dinner,  and  no 
excuse  would  answer,  but  he  must  go 
with  him.  We  will  not  detail  the 
uproarious  scene.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  by  midnight  many  of  the 
number  w^ere  so  far  gone  that  they 
could  not  help  themselves  home. 
Captain  Capers  did  not  realize  his  ex- 
act situation,  or  he  would  not  have 
gone  home  himself,  much  less  would 
he  have  allowed  his  merry  com 
panions  to  pull  the  bell  so  violently, 
or  shout  so  lustily,  to  get  the  servant 
ap  to  let  him  in. 

The  next  morning  he  kept  his  bed 


196  THE   TEMPERA]S^CE   BOYS. 

Mrs.  Capers  looked  sad,  and  the  chil 
dren  were   very  mucli  alarmed   he- 
cause  Uncle  John  was  sick,  so  sick 
hat  he  could  not  get  up. 

He  came  down  to  dinner,  but  did 
not  seem  very  cheerful,  and  in  the 
afternoon  he  went  out  again. 

"Mother,"  said  Johnny,  when  he 
found  that  lady  alone  in  the  evening, 
"mother,  was  that  Uncle  John  that 
came  in  so  late  last  night,  and  made 
so  much  noise  ?" 

"  Why  do  you  ask  that,  my  son  ?" 
was  the  mother'?,  ^espouse. 

"  Because,"  said  he,  hesitatingly,  "  I 
did  not  know ;  I  was  afraid  he  had 
not  been  a  temperance  man,"  he 
added,  hardly  knowing  how  to  say  a 
thing  so  offensive. 

"  Well,  what  then,  my  child  ?"  con* 
tinued  the  mother. 


UNCLE  JOHN  CONVERTED.         lUT 

"O,  nothiug !  only  I  was  thinking 
that  I  did  not  want  to  be  a  sailoi-  if  I 
could  not  be  a  temperance  man  too." 

Now  it  so  happened  that  long  since 
Captain  Capers  had  marked  his  young 
namesake  for  a  sailor.  He  genei-ally 
called  him  "  skipper"  or  "  middy,"  and 
would  frequently  talk  over  his  future 
adventures,  and  the  lands  he  would 
visit.  His  mother  was  not  pleased 
with  this,  but  she  did  not  oppose  the 
idea,  hoping  that  his  own  good  sense 
would,  as  he  grew  older,  show  him 
some  better  way.  And  now,  like  a 
careful  mother,  she  tried  to  lead  and 
strengthen  that  judgment. 

"  Well,  my  son,"  she  continued, 
"what  will  you  do  about  it?  You 
know  he  expects  you  to  go." 

"  I'll  tell  him  that  I've  changed  my 
mind,  and  do  not  wish  to  be  a  sailor 


198  THE    TKMPEKANCE    BOYS. 

because  I  could  not  be  a  temperance 
boy  too." 

"  But  be  sure  to  be  careful  and  re- 
spectful toward  him,  even  if  you  can- 
not follow  his  example ;  for  he  is  your 
uncle,  and  a  much  older  person  than 
you  are,  too." 

The  next  day  Johnny  went  with 
Jeiferson  Townley  tosee  the  Maloneys. 
The  society  and  friends  had  done 
much  for  this  family;  but  somehow 
they  did  not  seem  to  be  any  better 
off  for  it.  To  be  sure  the  children 
sometimes  had  shoes  on,  and  were  a 
little  better  clothed ;  l)ut  the  room 
was  as  untidy  and  comfortless  as  ever. 
The  secret  was  that  the  best  of  the 
clothing  that  had  been  given  them 
was  sent  to  the  pawnbroker's  shop  to 
get  money  with  it,  and  the  money 
was  spent  for  whisky;  but  this  fact 


UisrCLE  JOHN  CONVEKTKI).        199 

was  carefully  concealed   fi'om    those 
who  helped  them. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Uncle  John, 
work  had  been  obtained  for  the  man, 
who  pretended  to  be  a  painter.  Ac- 
cordingly some  ])lain  painting  had 
been  given  him  ;  l)ut  he  soon  com- 
plained that  climbing  made  him  dizzy, 
and  he  could  not  work  there.  It 
finally  turned  out  that  he  was  only  a 
whitewasher,  and  as  this  was  not  the 
season  for  whitewashing,  he  could  get 
no  woi'k.  Such  difficulties  as  these 
the  benevolent  sometimes  meet  in  their 
labors  of  love ;  but,  for  the  sake  of 
those  who  are  worthy,  still  continue 
to  assist  all  who  appear  to  be  so. 

When  Johnny  and  Jeff  came  with 
in  two  or  three  squares  of  the  Malo 
neys,  their  w<iy  was  blocked  up  by  a 
crowd.     With  natural  curiosity  they 


200         THE   TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 

ptopped  to  inquire  the  cause  of  it ;  but 
finding  it  only  a  drunken  quarrel, 
they  picked  their  way  around,  and 
were  going  on  in  quiet,  when  they  met 
Mrs.  Maloney  rushing  on  in  frantic 
haste,  crying  out,  "They'll  kill  him! 
They'll  kill  him,  sure !" 

The  boys  turned  to  follow  her,  and 
elbowing  their  way  into  the  foul- 
mouthed  crowd,  they  saw  one  of  the 
most  diso-ustino;  sights  belonsriua:  to  a 
course  of  intemperance.  Two  drunken 
men,  one  of  whom  was  Maloney,  were 
fighting.  Maloney  had  been  thrown, 
and  his  antagonist  was  pounding  his 
face  and  eyes,  when  Mrs.  Maloney 
burst  in,  and  seizing  the  other  by  the 
hair,  dragged  him  off.  Then  there 
were  cries  of  "Fair  play,"  mingled 
with  7ery  foul  words  and  curses,  and 
the  woman  was  taken  away.   Maloney 


UNCLE  JOHN  CONVEIITED.        201 

*v7te  helped  up  and  ui'ged  on,  and  at 
it  they  went  again.  It  was  horribly 
sickening,  a  ghastly  sight  for  those 
young  eyes  to  look  upon,  one  which 
would  often  flit  before  their  minds 
shockingly  perhaps  for  years.  How 
thoroughly  debased  then  must  l)e 
those  hearts  that,  brought  up  in  the 
midst  of  such  scenes,  can  look  upon 
them  unmoved,  or  coolly  cry,  "  Give 
it  to  him  !  give  it  to  him  !"  O  rum, 
rum  !  who  can  tell  half  the  misery  and 
the  vice  that  thou  bringest ! 

Heart-sick  the  two  boys  were  turn- 
ing away  to  leave  the  crowd  when 
they  saw  it  already  dispersing,  and 
two  policemen  were  leading  away  tli** 
bruisers  to  the  station-house.  Maloney 
Beemed  badly  Imrt,  and  the  boys  fob 
lowed  timidly  to  inquire  about  him. 

"O  no,"  the  policeman  replied  to 


202  THE    Ti;3IPERANCE    BOYS. 

their  inquiry ;  "  they  have  only  set  his 
nosf^  a-bleecling.  The  best  medicine 
for  him  will  be  a  month  or  two  on 
the  Island.  But  these  streets  are  no 
place  for  you,  my  lads.  You  had 
better  go  where  it  is  safer." 

In  returning  they  saw  Mrs.  Maloney 
standing  on  a  corner  talking  in  a  high 
tone,  cursing  her  husband  and  the 
policeman  alternately ;  but  no  one 
seemed  to  think  of  cursins:  the  rum- 
shops,  which,  found  on  every  corner, 
were  the  causes  of  all  the  trouble. 
Even  with  that  awful  example  before 
them,  they  dropped  into  the  grocery, 
one  after  another,  to  "hquor  again." 

This  disturbance  seemed  to  havo 
called  out  into  the  streets  all  the  low 
inhabitants  of  that  low  neighborhood. 
Everywhere  the  boys  saw  nothing  but 
filth,    misery,    and   rags^    and  in  the 


UNCLE  JOHN    CONVERTED.  208 


features  of  every  face  seemed  to  be 
writteu,  "  Intemperance,"  "  Strong 
drink,"  "  Rum,"  "  Ruin."  If  by  chance 
a  decent  man  did  pass  by  that  way 
it  only  served  to  show  the  contrast 
between  temperance  and  intemper- 
ance more  strikingly,  as  the  boya 
could  not  help  obsei'ving  in  one  case 
wnere  a  miserable  drunkard  who  was 
holding  himself  up  by  a   lamp-post 


'20 i  T2E   TEMPEKAXCE    130 IS. 

stopped  a  fiue-looking  gentleman  to 
beg  an  alms.  It  was  a  sight  which 
our  young  friends  thought  they  wouhl 
not  soon  forget.  But  the  low  people 
about  there  seemed  absolutely  blind, 
without  an  idea  of  the  cause  of  all 
their  misery. 

"  0  uncle,"  said  Johnny  sadly  when 
he  saw  that  relative  in  the  evening, 
"  Mr.  Maloney  has  been  getting  drunk 
ao-ain,  and  fiorhtino;,  and  he  is  to  be 
shut  up  for  it  a  long  time." 

"So  much  for  signing  the  temper- 
ance pledge,"  said  Uncle  John. 

"  No,  uncle,"  said  Johnny  respect- 
fully but  earnestly,  "it  is  intemper- 
ance that  does  that.  If  he  woidd 
stick  to  his  pledge,  and  let  strong 
drink  alone,  it  would  not  be  so." 

"Will  you  give  up  the  family,  then, 
because  the  father  drinks  ?" 


UNCLE  JOHN  CONVERTED.         205 

"Jeff  says  he  does  not  see  as  ii  is 
of  much  use  to  help  them.  They  are 
no  better  off,  after  all  that  we  have 
done  for  them.  The  children  are 
nothing  but  street  beggars,  and  do 
not  seem^  to  know  how  to  tell  the 
truth.  They  will  not  go  to  school 
nor  to  Sabbath  school,  and  I  do  not 
see  what  we  can  do  for  them." 

Johnny  paused ;  but  as  his  uncle 
made  no  reply,  he  went  on : 

"This  drinking  is  a  terrible  bad 
thing,  uncle.  I  do  not  see  that  any 
good  comes  of  it  anywhei'e.  I  am 
really  afraid  of  it.  I  don't  believe 
I'll  be  a  sailor.  I'm  afraid  that  some- 
how I  shall  learn  to  drink.  You 
know  almost  all  the  sailors  drink." 

Johnny  stopped  short ;  for  his  uncle 
looked  angry,  and  that  was  something 
very  unusual   for  him.      Indeed  the 


206  THE  TEIVIPEEANCE   BOYS. 

boy  was  friglitened  himself  wlien  ho 
came  to  think  how  bold  he  had  been. 

The  captain  stood  up  and  said 
sternly :  "  I  hope  you  do  not  mean  to 
compare  sailors  with  those  Five  Point 
drunkards ;"  but  when  he  saw  how 
frightened  Johnny  looked,  he  stroked 
the  child's  head,  adding  in  gentler 
tones :  "  Well,  well,  my  boy,  you  are 
more  than  half  right.  You  are  quite 
too  good  a  boy  to  be  a  sailor,  that's  a 
fact,"  and  then  he  left  the  room. 

Thei'e  was  some  anxiety  that  even- 
ing at  the  supper  table  because  Uncle 
John  did  not  make  his  appearance. 
The  maid  was  sent  to  knock  at  his 
door ;  but  there  was  no  answer,  and 
she  said  that  she  had  seen  him  going 
out  over  half  an  hour  before  with  his 
overcoat  on,  and  she  was  certain  he 
had  not  returned. 


UNCLE  JOHN  CONVERTEf*  207 

The  evening  passed  away,  and  still 
he  did  not  come.  Mrs.  Capers  ques- 
tioned her  son  closely.  She  feared 
that  Johnny  liad  said  something  that 
might  have  seriously  offended  his 
uncle,  though  it  was  very  unlike  him 
to  take  offense  at  anything  his  nephew 
might  choose  to  say. 

Johnny  was  allowed  to  sit  up  an 
hour  later  than  usual,  but  no  uncle 
came.  It  was  some  time  after  he  went 
to  bed  before  he  slept,  and  then  it 
was  to  dream  about  his  uncle. 

The  morning  came  and  went,  but 
ptill  no  uncle.  Very  eai-nestly  did 
Johnny  go  to  his  heavenly  Father 
and  tell  him  all  about  it,  praying  him 
to  keep  his  uncle  safe,  and  make  him 
a  very  good  man. 

When  the  children  returned  from 
school  that  day,  they  found  to  their 


208         THE   TEMPEEANCE    BOTS. 

^eat  joy  that  Uncle  Jolin  had  been 
home. 

"  But  he  has  gone  again,"  said  Mre. 
Capei-s.  He  was  tired  of  waiting  for 
his  old  ship  to  be  refitted,  so  the 
owners  gave  him  command  of  a  much 
larger  one,  that  is  lying  at  B.  He 
was  obliged  to  go  right  on  to  take 
the  oversight  of  the  pi-eparations  for 
the  voyage,  and,  as  she  must  sail  soon, 
he  did  not  expect  to  be  able  to  see 
us  again  before  leaving. 

The  big  tears  came  into  Johnny's 
eyes.  "  O  mother !"  he  cried,  "  why 
did'nt  he  come  to  bid  me  good-by? 
I  am  afraid  he  never  will  love  me  any 
more.  This  temperance  business!  I 
wish  I  had  not  said  a  word  to  him 
about  it !" 

"  My  son,"  said  the  judicious  mother 
reprovingly,  you  know  we  show  tha 


ITNCLE  JOHN  COXTEilTED.  209 

truest  kindness  to  our  friends  when 
we  try  to  do  them  good,  and  we  must 
leave  the  result  with  God.  But  I  do 
not  think  that  your  uncle  is  displeased 
with  you.  He  spoke  of  you  very 
kindly,  saying  that  he  had  not  time 
to  go  and  see  you ;  but  he  left  a  little 
parcel  for  you  which  he  said  he  sup- 
posed would  please  you  more  than 
half  a  dozen  good-bys." 

Johnny  took  it  sorrowfully,  saying 
that  he  did  not  know  of  any  j^resent 
that  would  please  him  half  so  much 
fis  his  uncle's  good-will.  Judge  then 
of  his  surprise  when,  on  breaking  the 
seal,  he  found  a  temperance  pledge 
with  his  uncle's  name  signed  to  it,  and 
a  copy  of  the  agreement  he  had  made 
with  the  owners  to  sail  the  ship  on 
temperance  principles. 

14 


210         THE   TEirPEKANCE    BOYB, 

CHAPIER  VTIL 

NEW      YEAR'S      DAY. 

Ajiio]N"G  the  customs  handed  down 
to  the  good  people  of  New- York,  by 
their  Dutch  ancestors,  is  that  of 
making  New  Year's  calls.  It  is  really 
a  very  pleasant  custom.  Everybody 
has  a  holiday;  and  it  is  a  very  suit- 
able time  to  call  on  everybody  else, 
in  whom  we  have  an  interest,  and  see 
how  they  have  prospered  through  the 
past  year,  and  offer  them  our  good 
wishes  for  the  comino:  one. 

But  then  if  everybody  made  calls 
there  would  be  no  one  to  call  upon; 
80  it  is  arranged  that  the  gentlemen 
make  the  calls,  and  the  ladies  remain 
at  heme  to  receive  them. 


inEW    YEAR'S    DAY.  211 

In  many  houses  a  table  is  spread 
m  the  parlor,  and  the  lady  of  the 
house  invites  her  guests,  with  cordial 
hospitality,  to  partake  of  the  dainties 
spread  before  them. 

All  this  makes  the  city  a  scene  of 
great  bustle  and  gayety.  The  streets 
are  filled,  from  morning  till  night, 
with  well-dressed  gentleman,  on  foot 
and  in  carriages,  veiy  few  ladies  ven- 
turing out  of  doors ;  while  the  parloi's 
are  adorned  in  their  brightest,  and 
the  tables  glitter  with  cliina,  glass- 
ware, and  plate. 

Now  all  this  is  very  nice.  1  dis- 
like to  spoil  the  picture.  But  it 
seems  almost  impossil)le  for  poor  hn 
man  beings  to  have  anything  perfect, 
and  there  are  a  great  many  ways  of 
spoiling  a  good  thing.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  the  greatest  ambition  of 


212  THE   TEJrPERAlSrCE   BOYS. 

the  gentlemen  to  make  as  many  calls 
as  possible.  He  that  makes  the  most 
calls  is  the  best  fellow.  It  is  also  the 
ambition  of  the  ladies  to  receive  a 
great  many  calls,  and  if  any  of  their 
gentlemen  aquaintance  do  not  call  on 
them  it  is  considered  a  grievous 
neglect. 

It  follows  that  if  a  gentleman  has 
a  pretty  extensive  acquaintance  he  is 
kept  very  busy,  making  perhaps  from 
thirty  to  fifty  calls.  Then  you  must 
remember  that  he  is  asked  to  eat 
something  at  every  place,  and  is 
urged  to  eat  much.  As  may  be  sup- 
posed, there  is  often  some  suffering 
from  intemperance  in  eating. 

They  are  not  so  wise  as  the  Indians 
ill  that  respect.  When  the  Dutch 
settled  the  Mohawk  Valley,  the  In- 
dians,  who  were  then  living  there. 


NEW    YEAR'S    DAY.  213 

adopted  many  of  the  habits  of  theii 
new  white  neighbors.  Among  the 
rest  was  this  of  making  New  Year's 
calls.  But  the  young  Indians  soon 
found  that  they  could  not  eat  a  full 
meal  at  many  places;  and  still,  ac- 
cording to  the  long-established  cus- 
tom, it  would  be  considered  an  affront 
to  refuse  the  hospitalities  of  any  one. 
So  they  prudently  took  along  a  bag, 
into  which  they  put  the  surplus  cake, 
and  carried  it  home,  to  eat  it  at  their 
leisure,  or  distribute  among  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  This  custom 
is  continued  among  some  of  the  tribes 
to  the  present  day;  and  I  once  knew 
a  young  chief,  who  was  quite  a  favor- 
ite in  the  tribe,  that  carried  home 
more  than  a  bushel  of  cakes  in  one 
day.  Our  young  New-York  aristoc- 
racy would  probably  object  to  carry 


214         THE    TEMPEEAIS^CE    BOYS. 

ing  the  extra  sack,  and  so  they  ge.ii' 
teely  crowd  it  all  down  their  own 
throats. 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  of  it. 
Since  the  first  great  temperance 
movement  died  away  it  has  become 
very  common  to  pLace  the  decanter 
and  the  wine-glass  on  the  table ;  yes, 
and  porter,  and  brandy,  and  every- 
thinsr  else  that  is  used  as  a  drink. 
And  the  ladies,  I  am  sorry  to  say  it, 
turn  tempters,  and  offer  the  intoxi- 
cating draught. 

My  readers  will  doubtless  think 
that  this  will  not  seriously  affect  our 
temperance  boys,  as  they  were  too 
young  to  make  calls ;  and  so  they 
were,  the  most  of  them ;  but  George 
Barker  was  not.  He  was  just  turned 
sixteen.  He  was  a  thoughtful,  studi- 
ous  lad,    very   little    accustomed   to 


NEW  year's  day.  215 

society,  and  had  as  yet  never  made 
New  Year's  calls.  But  within  the 
past  year  he  had  grown  six  inches,  so 
that  he  was  quite  a  man  in  size,  and, 
what  was  of  still  greater  importance, 
he  had  laid  by  his  roundabout,  and 
put  on  a  frock-coat. 

His  strict  though  somewhat  world- 
ly mamma  thought  it  high  time  he 
should  begin  to  go  into  society  ;  and 
it  was  duly  arranged  that  he  should 
make  New  Year's  calls  this  season 
with  his  cousin  Cyrus. 

They  had  a  large  circle  of  fashion- 
able relatives  and  acquaintances, 
among  whon.  Cousin  Cyrus  was  al- 
ready a  great  favorite,  so  that  places 
for  calling  were  not  wanting.  Sonie- 
liow,  in  the  anticipated  pleasures  of 
the  day,  George  never  thought  of  the 
probability  of  being  tempted  to  break 


216         THE   TEMPEEANCE    BOYS. 

his  pledge,  or,  if  he  did,  he  intended, 
of  course,  to  decline  drinking,  if  in- 
vited to  do  so. 

At  the  first  two  or  three  places 
where  they  called  no  liquors  were  oa 
the  tables,  and  George  got  on  ad- 
mu'ably.  His  cousin  complimented 
him  on  his  fine  appearance,  the  ladies 
smiled  on  him,  and  he  seemed  in  a 
new  world  of  delight.  He  quite  for- 
got everything  but  the  new  excite- 
ment around  him;  and  when  they 
did  call  where  there  were  liquors 
on  the  table  he  did  not  observe 
them. 

Bashful  and  excited  people  are  not 
usually  very  accurate  observers.  Be- 
sides he  was  quite  bewildered  with 
the  dazzling  beauty  of  their  young 
hostess.  He  had  seen  her  before,  as 
she  was  a  family  connection,  and  the 


NEW    TEAR'S    DAI.  217 

remembrance  of  her  was  like  some 
l)eauteous  dream.  As  she  chatted 
gayly  with  Cousin  Cyrus,  and  now 
and  then  addressed  some  smiling  re- 
mark to  him,  it  is  no  wonder  he  took 
unheeded  everything  she  offered  him. 
It  is  no  wonder  he  mistook  the  glass 
of  champagne  for  water  or  lemonade, 
and,  following  the  example  of  cousin 
Cyrus,  swallowed  it  down. 

No,  not  quite  all  of  it.  He  stopped 
half  way  of  the  glass,  to  inquire  what 
it  was,  and  he  crimsoned  deeply  under 
her  quizzical  eye  as  she  replied :  "  The 
very  best  champagne.  Cousin  George. 
Don't  you  think  it  nice  ?  I  heard  pa 
say  that  he  took  great  pains  to  get 
the  best  article,  and  this  is  some  that 
we  have  had  in  the  cellar  a  long  time, 
longer  than  I  can  I'emember,  though 
that  is  not  a  great  while,"  said  she 


218       THE  temperjMtce  boys. 

laughingly.  "  Have  some  more  of  it, 
George." 

"  No,  I  thank  you,  I'd  rather  not," 
said  George,  stammering;  "I  never 
drink  it,"  "  Some  scruples,  have  you  ?" 
interposed  Cousin  Cyrus  ;  "  well,  it  is 
quite  too  late ;  you  have  drank  half  a 
glass  ah^eady." 

"  Pray  do  finish  one  glass,  at  least,'* 
urged  the  lady.  "  I  am  sure  it  can- 
not hurt  you.  Indeed,  I  often  take 
some  myself,"  and  then  she  sipped  a 
little  from  a  glass. 

George  could  not  resist  this,  and 
he  drained  the  glass ;  but  he  left  the 
house  with  a  heavy  heart. 

Once  out  again,  his  cousin  rallied 
him  on  being  over  nice. 

"  If  you  are  not  going  to  take  any 
liquor,"  said  he,  "you  may  just  aa 
well  not  make  any  more  caUs,  for  you 


TSTEW  YEAR'S  DAY.  219 

will  find  it  quite  frequently,  and  you 
will  only  make  yourself  ridiculous  )j 
refusing  it." 

"  But  I've  signed  the  pledge,"  said 
George.  "  Well,  you  have  broken  it 
now,  and  it  can't  be  helped,  so  you 
may  as  well  go  on,"  he  urged,  seeing 
George  was  inclined  to  take  his  sug- 
gestion and  not  make  any  more  calls. 
"  You  need  not  take  much,"  he  added, 
"if  you  are  afraid  of  it;  just  a  sip  to 
pass  it  off." 

George  felt  better  when  at  the  next 
call  he  saw  no  liquors  on  the  table, 
and  at  still  the  next,  when  Cyrus 
kindly  got  him  excused  from  taking 
any. 

After  this  call  his  cousin  patroni- 
zingly said :  "  You  see,  George,  there 
are  some  places  like  the  last  where  it 
will  do  to  excuse  one's  self,  and  I'll 


220         TEE   TEMPEKAlSrCE  BOYS. 

do  it  for  you  when  T  can ;  but  now 
we  are  going  to  call  at  Major  Doane's, 
and  I  hope  you'll  not  make  yourself 
and  me  so  ridiculous  as  to  refuse  a 
taste.  If  you  should,  I  should  hardly 
he  able  ever  to  make  up  a  face  to  call 
there  ao^ain." 

The  sumptuous  elegance  of  the 
apartments  charmed  George,  and  the 
dignity  of  the  lady  awed  him. 

"  Don't  you  like  the  wine,  my 
young  friend  ?"  said  she  graciously,  as 
he  put  down  the  barely  tasted  glass. 
"It  is  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape, 
which  we  have  had  specially  manu- 
factured for  our  own  use." 

So  Geo]"ge  tasted  it  again.  He  had 
heard  so  much  said  about  the  adul- 
terations of  wine,  that  if  this  waa 
pure  he  wanted  to  try  it,  and  he 
di  ank  a  little  more. 


WEW  YEAR'S  DAY.  221 

The  champagne  began  to  work  in 
Lis  head  by  this  time,  so  that  it  was 
miicli  easier  to  drink  more ;  and  he 
"just  tasted"  a  little  at  nearly  every 
call.  The  company,  the  brilliancy  of 
the  day,  the  general  hilarity  greatly 
raised  his  spirits.  Pie  thought  he 
never  enjoyed  anything  so  much  be- 
fore. He  was  glad  to  find  that  the 
new  circle  whose  acquaintance  he  was 
that  day  making  contained  so  many 
elegant  people;  in  short,  he  was  in 
excellent  good-humor  with  himself 
and  all  tlie  world. 

It  was  late  that  afternoon  that  Miss 
Amelia  Martin  stood  half  concealed 
by  the  heavy  folds  of  the  window 
drapery  looking  into  the  street  below. 
She  had  been  permitted  to  assist  her 
mother  at  their  temperately,  but 
tast(^fuly  spread  table,  until  she  was 


222  THE   TEMPEKAlSrCE   BOYS. 

quite  wearied  with  excitement  Seiz* 
ing  a  favorable  opportunity,  when  no 
one  was  in,  she  stole  away  to  the 
deep  recess  of  the  window  to  cool  her 
burning  cheeks,  and  watch  the  out 
door  scenes. 

Couples  and  parties  of  gentlemen 
were  hurrying  along,  arm  in  arm,  with 
cigars  in  their  mouths,  and  some  were 
more  leisurely  sporting  their  canes 
and  chatting  with  great  glee.  But  it 
did  not  escape  her  eye  that  there 
were  many  that  wore  a  flushed  face 
and  carried  themselves  with  an  uncer- 
tain step.  These  were  mostly  young 
men,  quite  young,  and  Amelia  thought 
sadly  that  probably  many  of  them 
had  that  day  drank  for  the  first  time, 
had  that  day  first  played  with  the 
viper  that  might  hereafter  sting  thenj 
to  death. 


NEW    YEAR'S    DAY.  223 

And  she  was  glad  with  a  childlike 
joy,  as  she  thought  how  free  their  own 
table  was  from  all  that  could  tempt 
to  indulgence  in  the  fatal  draught. 
There  was  not  even  the  flavor  of 
brandy  or  wine  in  pie,  cake,  or  sweet- 
meat, and  her  mother's  gentl*^  roice 
had  more  than  once  advised  their 
youthful  visitors  to  beware  of  aught 
that  might  bring  repentance  on  the 
morrow.  And  a  tear  of  gratitude 
trembled  in  the  eye  of  the  thoughtful 
maiden  that  she  was  blest  with  such 
a  home,  and  that  her  youthful  haud 
nad  never  been  lent  to  tlie  fearful  task 
of  beckoning  her  dear  young  friends 
from  the  blessed  walks  of  temperance. 

Just  then  two  young  men  passed, 
one  of  whom  she  thought  she  had 
seen  before,  but  she  could  not  recall 
his  name.     He  saw  her,  and  bowed 


224         TlIE   TEirPEKAjSrCE    BOYS. 

unsteadily,  half  losing  his  balance,  and 
the  next  minute  he  was  ascending  the 
steps.  It  was  George  Barker.  He 
had  recognized  the  place  where  he 
took  his  thanksgiving  dinner,  and  he 
must  calL  His  cousin,  who  by  this 
time  was  quite  ashamed  of  his  own 
work,  and  was  getting  him  home  as 
fast  as  he  could,  tried  in  vain  to  dis- 
suade him  from  entering ;  but  George 
declared  that  he  had  been  calling  on 
"  Cy's  friends "  all  day,  and  now  Cy 
should  make  one  call  with  him  on  his 
friends. 

We  need  not  say  how  shocked  they 
all  were  on  recognizing  the  condition 
of  the  temperance  boys'  secretary, 
and  Mr.  Martin,  who  was  now  ai 
home,  took  an  early  opportunity  of 
bowing  him  out,  assuring  him  that  ht 
was  half  sick,  and  ought  to  go  home. 


NEW    YEAR'S  DAf.  225 

O !  it  is  shocking  to  see  one  whom 
we  have  learned  to  love  and  respect 
.juite  make  a  fool  of  himself,  actually 
in  some  cases  going  about  the  streets 
with  less  decent  behavior  than  a  re- 
spectable dog.  And  I  wonder  how 
any  man  in  his  right  mind  can  see 
another  man  thus  behave,  and  then 
go  and  make  a  like  spectacle  of  him- 
self. 

But  George  Barker  was  not  the 
only  sufferer  on  that  day.  Let  us 
trace  one  other  instance. 

Among  the  most  boisterous  of  those 
who  sallied  out  on  that  gay  morning 
was  Cliiford  Nash,  the  early  and  de- 
termined opposer  of  the  temperance 
boys.  Though  he  was  quite  too 
young,  his  indulgent  mamma  could 
not  resist  his  importunities  to  allow 

him  to  make  calls.    Indeed,  they  werw 

ir, 


226  THE   TEMPEEAiSrCE   BOYS. 

rather  demands  than  importunities. 
He  "-would  go  and  make  calls,  and 
that  was  all  there  was  about  it." 

His  father  interposed,  saying  that 
he  might  accompany  him  in  his  car- 
riage in  the  afternoon ;  but  the  spoiled 
boy,  made  so  much  ado  about  it  that 
he  was  permitted  to  go  in  the  morn- 
ing, with  the  injunction  that  he  should 
be  back  in  the  afternoon  to  go  with 
his  father. 

"  Hurrah  for  young  America !"  he 
shouted  when  he  reached  the  rendez- 
vous, and  met  the  young  fellow  that 
was  to  accompany  him.  "  If  dad 
thinks  he'll  get  me  back  in  the  after- 
■noon  to  trot  round  with  him  in  his 
slow  coach  he  is  mistaken.  I  believe 
in  fast  horses;  don't  you,  Ed?"  and 
off  they  started  for  the  livery  stable, 
where    they    were    acquainted,    and 


:SEW   YEAR'S    DAT.  227 

soon  engaged  a  horse  and  light 
buggy. 

His  parents  had  no  idea  of  such  a 
maneuver,  but  some  of  his  profuse 
holiday  pocket  money  had  been  saved 
up  with  special  reference  to  this  occa- 
sion. 

They  fancied  they  made  a  great 
dash  when  they  started  out,  and  I 
suppose  they  did ;  for  every  one  stared 
to  see  two  such  young  lads  with  a 
fast  horse ;  but  if  they  stared  in  the 
morning,  there  was  much  greater  oc- 
casion for  it  before  three  o'clock. 

The  tables  at  every  house  where 
they  called  were  spread  with  liquoi-s, 
of  which  Cliff  and  his  friend  partook 
quite  sparingly,  at  least  so  they 
thought;  but  the  mingling  of  different 
kinds  ol  liquoi'S  was  quite  too  much 
for  them,  and  they  were  soon  more 


228  THE   TEMPERANCE   BOYS. 

giddy  than  usual,  which  was  quite 
unnecessary. 

A  policeman  who  saw  them  spin- 
ning along,  almost  thought  it  his  duty 
to  stop  them,  and  it  would  have  been 
a  mercy  to  them  if  he  had  ;  but  they 
drove  too  fast  to  make  that  (][uite 
convenient.  They  turned  into  Broad- 
way with  a  sweep  ;  but  in  attempting 
to  run  before  an  omnibus  which  was 
fast  coming  up,  the  buggy  was  caught 
with  a  violent  jerk,  and  they  were 
both  thrown  to  the  ground. 

They  were  each  carried  home  to 
their  parents  senseless,  and  when 
Cliff  awoke  to  consciousness  he  found 
himself  a  cripple  for  life,  his  right 
ankle  having  been  completely  smashed 
under  the  wheel  of  the  omnibus.  Hia 
arm  was  also  broken ;  but  this  soon 
healed       His    friend    lost    an    eye. 


KE^^     t EAR'S    DAY.  229 

Suiely  the  way  of  the  traDsgr(;ssor  is 
hard. 

When  Jeffei'son  Townley  heard  of 
this  lie  humbly  acknowledged  a  kind 
providence  that  had  preserved  him 
from  such  a  fate.  For  had  not  this 
temperance  movement  separated  them, 
he  would  probably  still  have  been 
one  of  Cliffs  most  intimate  friends, 
and  most  likely  have  been  with  him 
in  the  buggy  when  this  accident  hap- 
pened. 


230         THE   TEMPERANCE  BOYS 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONCLUSIOIS'. 

The  next  meeting  in  Temperance 
Hall  was  a  sad  one.  The  first  comers 
gathered  around  the  stove,  conversing 
in  low  tones,  and  the  gloom  de>jpened 
on  their  countenances  as,  one  after  an- 
other, three  of  their  number  were 
mentioned  as  havinsr  fallen  from  their 
'Utegrity  on  New  Year's  day.  What 
course  would  be  pursued  by  these 
members,  or  toward  them,  was  an 
important  question.  They  loved  them 
Tiiey  hoped  the  offenders  would  not 
remain  away,  and  be  shy  of  them. 
Jeff  said   nothing.     He    alone   had 


COTTC  ELUSION.  231 

carried  out  the  Scripture  principle, 
''  If  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee, 
go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between 
thee  and  him  alone.  K  he  hear  thee, 
thou  hast  gained  thy  brother." 

After  the  meeting  was  called  to 
order  there  was  an  expressiv_  silence ; 
the  secretary's  chair  was  vacant,  and 
they  all  felt  as  if  some  great  calamity 
had  befallen  them. 

Then  the  chairman  remarked  that 
they  would  be  obliged  to  elect  some 
0Jiep7'0  tern,  to  take  the  place  of  the 
secretary  in  his  absence.  Willie 
Rathbone  was  elected. 

After  the  roll  had  been  called,  and 
some  business  about  cleaning  and 
warming  the  hall  had  been  transacted, 
several  of  the  members  related  their 
New  Year's  doings,  and  their  observa- 


232  THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS 

tions  showing  that  they  at  least  had, 
not    forgotten    the    spirit    of    their 
pledge,  nor  their  promise  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  drive   King  Alcohol 
from  the  nation  and  the  world. 

The  little  company  felt  greatly 
cheered  when  the  door  opened  and  in 
walked  George  Barker.  Willie  rose 
to  resign  his  seat ;  but  George  shook 
his  head,  and  sat  down  in  the  back 
part  of  the  room.  When  the  boy 
who  was  then  speaking  sat  down 
George  arose. 

"  My  friends,"  said  he,  "  I  see  you 
are  all  aware  of  my  sad  betrayal  of 
our  common  principles.  I  have  come 
to  make  my  confession." 

And  then  he  stated  the  facts,  so  far 
as  he  could  recollect  them,  in  an 
humbled  tone  and  manner  that  show- 


CONCLUSIOJ!^.  233 

ed  his  real  sorrow  for  hi°  misdeeds. 
"  I  have  yielded,"  said  he,  "  to  a  fool- 
ish fear  of  appearing  singular,  the 
fear  of  ridicule,  the  meanest  principle 
a  boy  can  acknowledge,  and  one  to 
which  I  hope  I  shall  never  yield 
again.  It  has  cost  me  something  to 
make  this  confession  ;  indeed,  I  do  not 
believe  I  should  have  had  courac^e  to 
do  it,  had  it  not  been  for  a  kind  visit 
from  Jeff  Townley.  He  begged  me 
not  to  throw  myself  away  because  I 
had  done  one  wrong. 

"  I  hear  that  two  or  three  others  have 
done  as  I  did,  and  I  see  they  are  not 
here  to-day.  Now  you  that  are  ac- 
quainted with  them  go  to  them, 
and  persuade  them  to  come  back. 
It  may  save  them  from  being  drunk- 
artls  yet. 


234  THE  TEMPERANCE  BOYS. 

"  As  to  my  case  you  must  do  wliat 
you  think  best  with  me.  I  am  very 
sorry  for  what  I  have  done,  and  would 
like  to  remain  a  member  of  the  society 
if  you  will  let  me  do  so,  trusting  that 
you  will  never  again  have  occasion  to 
find  fault  with  me," 

One  of  the  boys  immediately  mad( 
a  motion  that  he  should  be  forgiven 
and  restored  to  his  office,  and  it  wsa 
passed.  He  walked  up  to  the  desk, 
and  signed  the  pledge  again,  and 
though  he  tried  to  refuse  his  office 
it  was  forced  upon  him,  and  he 
was  again  seated  in  the  secretary'? 
chair. 

It  was  a  rare  and  affecting  sight 
for  a  boy  like  him,  at  an  age  wher 
boys  are  apt  to  feel  most  consequen 
tial,  to  get  up  and  confess  to  that  little 


CONCLUSION.  235 

assembly,  as  if  they  had  been  his 
fathers  and  his  uncles,  instead  of 
being  his  schoolmates,  and  most 
of  them  his  juniors.  It  showed  an 
excellent  trait  of  character,  which 
would  afterward  shine  out  nobly  in 
the  man. 

They  followed  his  advice  in  their 
kind  treatment  of  the  other  erring 
ones,  and  they  were  all  brought 
back. 

From  this  time  their  hearts  were 
more  closely  knit  together,  they  took 
a  deeper  and  more  kindly  interest  in 
each  other's  welfare,  and  watched 
more  intently  against  the  common 
foe. 

We  may  not  follow  our  temperance 
heroes  on  to  manhood ;  but  we  believe 
that  those  who  are  spared  to  see  that 


236 


THE    TEMPERANCE    BOYS. 


time  will  have  reason  to  bless  God, 
in  all  their  social  and  business  rela- 
tions, that  they  have  embraced  strict 
temperance  principles  ;  and  that  they 
will  cherish  as  some  of  their  dearest 
friends  those  with  whom  they  were 
once  associated  as  "The  Tempekaj^ce 
Boys." 


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